


Out of Hand

by CanineKitten



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha Uzumaki Naruto, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Betaed, Bonding, Discussion of Abortion, Explicit Sexual Content, Knotting, M/M, Marking, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Uchiha Sasuke, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Soulmates, Vaginal Sex, intersex omega
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:08:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23760613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineKitten/pseuds/CanineKitten
Summary: Naruto is an alpha often mistaken for a beta because of his gentle scent, and Sasuke is an omega often mistaken for an alpha because of his assertiveness. They're both used to not being considered attractive by the opposite gender, so what happens when their paths cross?Complete chaos. That's what happens.----Betaed by Heartsns
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 237
Kudos: 1152





	1. Defective

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm back! I hadn't planned to write any more fanfics (except from part 2 of Free Falling, which I'm still working on...) but now I suddenly have eight fics on my to-do list. Hm. I guess I'm not done with this fandom just yet. 
> 
> As to this fic, I just want to mention that when I write ABO fics I always write the male omega as intersex (meaning they've got both a penis and a vagina) because that's the only way this trope can work for me.
> 
> Warning for this chapter: sexual harassment

It was a warm, sunny day in the beginning of May. Outside the air was shimmering from the heat, but thankfully Naruto was inside the air-conditioned work-landscape at the fifth floor of Senju Corp. He shouldn’t be feeling the heat at all, which was why he found it puzzling that he already had sweated through two shirts. He was having trouble focusing on the computer screen because his brain felt like cooked mush, while everyone around him looked crisp and cool.

He went to Tsunade for the third time to ask her to regulate the room temperature.

Tsunade sighed. A seasoned alpha herself, she was puzzled that Naruto hadn’t realized what was going on.

“Are you sure this isn’t about you? No one else is complaining.”

Naruto, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his shirt unbuttoned to the third button, wondered why the world was so adamant at going against him today.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not coming down with something. I just feel hot and… I dunno… Itchy.”

Tsunade sighed again. “Naruto, have you considered that you might be going into rut?”

Naruto scratched his cheek. It hadn’t occurred to him at all. “Normally I don’t feel this way during rut. I just… You know…” He shrugged. “Isn’t hot flashes an omega thing?”

“What kind of ruts have you had, exactly?”

“I dunno… Normal ones?”

Tsunade rubbed her forehead. “Alright. Believe me when I tell you that running a higher temperature and feeling restless and itchy is completely normal during rut. It has nothing to do with the AC. Most likely it’s not everyone else in the room who are running the wrong temperature, but you.”

Naruto huffed. “But I’ve never-“

Tsunade slammed her hands down on the desk. “Naruto. I won’t hear more complaining from you. You’re the only one affected, so deal with it yourself,” she said in her most authoritative voice. Tsunade could make even the biggest, strongest alpha’s cower, but Naruto was barely affected.

Years of working for Tsunade had taught him when to stop pushing, though.

“Fine,” he grumbled and went back to his desk.

“Old hag thinks she can tell me when I’m in rut,” he muttered to himself. “As if I wouldn’t know.”

Normally, his ruts just made him a bit hornier, and maybe a bit crankier, but he’d never been very strongly affected. He knew he was lucky because he had heard about alpha’s that got really aggressive or embarrassingly desperate. He had also heard about altered states of mind that scared him a little, but no one had ever told him about this kinda thing.

Running a fever and all that was something he associated with heats. Getting weird cravings and becoming emotional and getting achy and uncomfortable, that was all an omega thing, right?

Right?

He had been having a weird craving for sour cream and onion chips lately, though…

“Hey-“

Naruto jumped in his chair, nearly knocking over his still half-full cup of coffee. 

Kiba leant casually against the edge of Naruto’s desk, the usual cocky grin on his face.

“What’s up? You’re pretty jumpy today.”

“Nothing,” Naruto grumbled. “Do you have a spare shirt?”

Kiba gave Naruto’s white, soaked through shirt a quick look. “Going into rut?”

Naruto wondered why everyone but him seemed to get it. “I guess,” he grumbled. “Do you have one or not?”

Kiba straightened up. “Come with me.”

He led Naruto to the room where they kept their private belongings and handed Naruto a blue shirt from his locker.

“Thanks,” Naruto said. He took off his soaked through shirt and washed off with water from the sink in the adjacent bathroom.

Kiba waited for him.

“Is this normal?” Naruto said as he buttoned up the shirt. “Do you get heat flushes too?”

“All the time,” Kiba said. “Don’t you?”

“No.” Naruto gave his reflection in the mirror a disgruntled look. His hair was limp from sweat. He ruffled it up with some water. “This is the first time. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m 26, not 16. I thought my body would be calming down by now.”

“Then the change is probably because of an omega.”

Naruto frowned. “How so?”

“Some omega’s can make your ruts more intense. Remember my second girlfriend?”

Naruto nodded.

“We had some crazy chemistry,” Kiba said. “The first time she went into heat we weren’t dating yet. I hadn’t even talked to her, but we shared some classes and when she came into the room… I had to get the fuck out of there. She started my rut right there, and it was ten times worse than normal. I had to stay at home for the next few days because I was a total mess.”

“Fuck…” Naruto tried to remember whether he’d picked up an omega’s heat scent, but couldn’t recall it. “But I know all the omega’s here,” he said. “I would have known already if there was anyone I had special chemistry with.”

“There could be someone new from some other department.”

Naruto ran his hand over his heated forehead. He was already sweating through Kiba’s shirt, and he was starting to feel a bit dizzy.

Kiba noticed that something was off and hurried to get him some cold water from the water cooler in the hallway.

“I think I need to go home,” Naruto said. He felt a little better after drinking the water, but he wasn’t sure he could get through the whole day like this. “Can you tell Tsunade I felt sick? She’ll understand.”

“Sure. Wanna go out tonight? We could go to that new club. There’s probably gonna be lot’s of pretty omega’s there.”

Naruto shook his head. The thought of being rejected in his desperate state was not tempting, and rejected he would be, as he’d been his whole life because of his small, omega-like fangs and un-alphalike mild scent. “No thanks. I just need to lie down.”

Already on the subway Naruto felt a little better, and by the time he got home he was only experiencing mild rut symptoms. That proved it: someone at work was affecting him. But whom?

\-----

Sasuke went to work that day without any particular concerns, despite the fact that his heat had started that morning. He made the usual precautions, putting on cologne to dampen the scent and taking painkillers to fight the general aches in his body. He knew today would be a tough day. It was the first time he went into heat at his new job. He had been transferred to Senju Corp two months ago as head of the finance department. Being an omega he’d had to fight twice as hard as others to get to where he was now, and the fight still wasn’t over. People tested his leadership ability every day, unconvinced that an omega could be fit to lead a whole department. So far Sasuke had proved himself worthy of the responsibility, but now that his heat had arrived he would be put to the most difficult test.

He was confident that he would be up to the challenge, though. His heats had never affected him much. He wasn’t the type to get completely mushy around alpha’s like some omega’s in heat could be. If someone tried anything today, he would prove once and for all that he was in complete control and worthy of their respect.

Then that would hopefully be the end of some of the displeased looks he had been getting since he first arrived there. 

He noticed the reaction from the alpha’s almost immediately as he arrived that morning. Every single one of them looked up as they felt his scent. However subtle and concealed it was, alpha’s still managed to pick up on it almost immediately. Sasuke pretended not to notice and got to work.

Most of the omega’s in his department had taken to him quickly. They looked up to him as proof that it was possible to go against the conventions. The beta’s couldn’t tell the difference between an alpha or an omega since they didn’t have the same sensitive sense of smell, so to them it hardly mattered what Sasuke’s secondary gender was. But the alpha’s didn’t like him much.

Not only didn’t Sasuke act like an omega, he didn’t look like one either. He was taller than many of the alpha’s, and probably stronger too. He’d often been mistaken for an alpha before people came close enough to get a whiff of him.

This was enough to set many an alpha’s teeth on edge.

Sasuke felt some of the alpha’s eyes on him during the whole day, and he wondered what they were planning. When he spoke to them, they answered in clipped tones. Not all of them were bad, but there was a small clique of them whose lingering eyes Sasuke didn’t appreciate. One of them was in rut too.

Sasuke could feel his scent like a sour, persistent presence.

He kept to his office most of the day so as to minimize the extent of his heat. When a new alpha or omega was introduced to a place, everyone needed some time to get used to the new scent. During rut and heat, there was always a risk that the new scent could trigger something unexpected in others.

Everyone in his workplace seemed to get on easily enough with the work, though, so it seemed like there had been nothing to worry about. One of the alpha’s, Juugo, had taken upon him to inform Sasuke about how the other alpha’s were doing and letting him know that he didn’t seem to be wreaking havoc with his hormones.

“Thank you for telling me,” Sasuke said.

He liked Juugo. Despite his size and strong alpha scent, he was a gentle person.

Seeing as everything was going so well, Sasuke was not prepared for what happened at lunchtime. He preferred to take his lunch in his office, especially now that his scent would become an inconvenience to the others. So he was thankfully alone when it happened.

All of a sudden he felt flushed from head to toe, as though a fire had licked through his whole body. His skin tingled and sensitive areas became even more sensitive. He got up from his chair and opened the window to let in some fresh air. Thankfully, a gentle breeze was circulating the hot air outside. But it didn’t help Sasuke in the least. He felt a little dizzy, so he sat down again and gulped down some water.

What. The. Fuck was happening?

His hands were shaking slightly.

He decided to get some work done, to hopefully get his mind off whatever was happening to his body, but the words blurred on the pages. After a while, Juugo knocked on the door and entered. He closed the door quietly behind himself.

“Sir…” he started off, uncertainly.

“Yes?” Sasuke’s voice was a bit more clipped than he had intended. He realized that he sounded too on edge. “What is it?” he added a little milder.

“I couldn’t help but notice… and the other’s noticed it too… Your scent suddenly became very…” he hesitated.

Sasuke cursed his bad luck. So the others had noticed the change in him too. Wonderful.

He leant back in his chair, taking care to look relaxed and in-control.

“What, Juugo? Please explain it in a coherent manner.”

“…Well, I just thought you’d like to know. Some of the other alpha’s are reacting to it. You might want to… watch out for that.”

Sasuke nodded curtly. “I appreciate your candidness.”

After Juugo left, Sasuke buried his warm face in his hands. “Fuck.”

Everything had seemed to go so well until now. The only explanation for the sudden change was that he was reacting to some alpha’s rut. It couldn’t be the guy he’d noticed earlier, because his smell hadn’t been appealing to him in the least. Maybe one of the others had gone into a rut right before lunch.

He told his secretary to send in one of the omega’s, Karin, who was someone he’d talked with a lot and felt he could trust. 

“I’ll be blunt,” he said as Karin arrived. “We have a bit of a situation on our hands and I need to know if any of the alpha’s in this department has gone into rut since I arrived today.”

“Suigetsu just did,” Karin said. “And maybe Yahiko too.”

Sasuke rubbed his temples. He felt a headache coming on.

“Can you send them in?” he said. “One at a time.”

Karin nodded and left.

Shortly after, Suigetsu came in. He had an annoying smirk on his lips and leaned carelessly on one of the chairs in front of Sasuke’s desk.

“What’s up, boss?”

Sasuke generally disliked cheeky alpha’s, but Suigetsu wasn’t the worst type. He was more bark than bite.

Sasuke stood and went so close up to Suigetsu that they both easily could make out each other’s scents. Suigetsu’s was fresh and salty, like seawater, but it did nothing special to Sasuke.

This was not the alpha that had made his heat go haywire.

Suigetsu met Sasuke’s gaze without hesitation. He was not easily intimidated.

“You can go back to work,” Sasuke said.

Suigetsu went to the door but stopped before he opened it. He looked over his shoulder. “By the way, you should probably do something about Daiki and his clique of alpha’s. They look like they’re planning something.“ He winked. “Nip it in the bud.”

Sasuke talked to Yahiko next, but he was already bonded to an omega from the marketing department, Nagato, as well as an alpha from human resource, Konan. It was unusual to hear of someone who was bonded to two others, but it meant that Yahiko couldn’t be the one Sasuke was searching for either.

This meant that the alpha came from a different department. Either way, he or she must have left the building because Sasuke was starting to feel a little better. He took another dose of painkillers and kept working till late evening.

When he finally packed up it was six o’clock. He had expected everyone else to have gone home so he was surprised when he walked to the elevators and saw someone come towards him in the hallway.

It was Daiki, a tall and lanky alpha with steely grey eyes underneath a heavy forehead.

He braced himself on the wall so that he blocked Sasuke’s way. He stared at Sasuke but didn’t say anything. 

Sasuke felt a muscle in his temple twitch. He hated this type of assertion of dominance. He’d thought he’d seen the last of it after college.

“It’s getting late,” Sasuke said pointedly. “Shouldn’t you be heading home too?”

“Think you can tell me what to do, huh, omega?” Daiki said.

Sasuke hated the way he spoke to him as omega first, and not a person. He should be used to it by now, but it still stung. At least he’d learned not to show it if someone got to him.

“You’d be wise not to harass your boss,  _ alpha _ ,” he retorted coolly. “It’ll have consequences.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty,” Daiki said. He leant closer, his stale breath fanning over Sasuke’s face. “There’s no point in pretending you’re not desperate for some alpha cock.”

A shudder of disgust went through Sasuke.

“We all felt your stench,” Daiki continued. “You might be good at playing tough, but in the end you can’t escape what you really are.” He leant closer, his lips touching Sasuke’s ear. “A dirty, little slut.”

Sasuke barely restrained himself from punching the guy. If he did, it would only give Daiki the evidence he needed to make others distrust Sasuke as well. Instead he moved forward and shouldered Daiki out of the way.

“I won’t forget this,” Sasuke said calmly. He looked over his shoulder as the elevator arrived. Daiki was watching him with a confident smirk on his face. Sasuke met his gaze without wavering.

“See you tomorrow, sweetie,” Daiki called out just as the elevator door closed in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke seethed all the way home. He would find a way to make that prick pay.


	2. Unleashed

It was evening and Naruto was in pain. He had thought the worst of the rut was over once he left work, but a few hours after he came home he started feeling worse again. He hadn’t been this horny since his high-school years. On top of that he was starting to get hot flashes again and the room started spinning each time he stood.

He called Kiba as soon as he knew he was done at work.

“Hey… Do you still wanna go to that club?”

A few hours later he met Kiba at The Cockatoo. From outside it looked pretty ordinary. It was situated in a back alley with brick walls. No windows, just a massive steel door.

Naruto considered the place with suspicion. “Are you sure this is it?”

A bouncer stepped aside to let them in.

“It looks better inside,” Kiba said.

Kiba was dressed up in his favorite well-worn leather jacket and his hair was stylishly tousled. With a cheeky grin that showed off his fangs he looked every bit the alpha he was. 

Naruto nervously ran a hand through his hair for the thousandth time.

Despite the early hour, the place was filled to the brim. The cocktail of scents that hit Naruto in the face was overwhelming for his oversensitive nose. He had forgotten the many reasons why he disliked this kind of place, but now he remembered them all too well. He was starting to regret his decision.

“How do you tell one scent from the others?” he said as he joined Kiba at the bar. It was difficult to talk over the loud music.

“You don’t need to,” Kiba half-shouted. “Just go by the looks.”

To Naruto, finding someone who smelled appealingly was as important as how they looked, even if it was just a one-night stand.

His mood had dampened as the bartender came with their drinks. He was getting a headache from all the insistent scents and sounds, and it felt like his nerves were on the outside of his skin. His t-shirt felt too tight on his body and his denim jacket chafed against his neck and arms.

“You don’t look too good,” Kiba said, putting his mouth close to Naruto’s ear so that he could be heard over the music. He looked around, presumably looking for an omega.

Naruto shook his head. “I don’t think this was such a good idea…”

“An omega will make you feel better,” Kiba said.

“I don’t think any of them would want me.”

“You haven’t even tried since you and Sakura broke up. Isn’t it about time to give it another shot?”

Naruto shrugged. “I prefer beta’s either way.”

“But they can’t help you through your rut.” Kiba squeezed Naruto’s shoulder. “Believe me, it’s an incredible fix. Once you’ve done it, you’ll never think about beta’s again.”

Naruto shrugged off Kiba’s hand. “It isn’t exactly my choice, though, is it?”

He knew he was being a bit testy and Kiba didn’t deserve that. He was just trying to help.

Naruto sighed. “Sorry… But I think it’s best if I just go home.”

Kiba looked at him with pity, and Naruto couldn’t handle that. He left some money for the drink he hadn’t touched and started making his way through the throng towards the exit.

Just as he turned, he bumped into a guy that just had arrived. He was wearing a suit and a tie, which was odd considering the setting.

Naruto muttered a sorry that he knew wouldn’t be heard over the din and shimmied past the man. As he did, he caught a whiff of his scent: first his cologne which had a pleasantly fresh undertone, but then something else underneath. The man’s natural scent stopped Naruto in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder just as the man in the suit did the same. As their eyes met, Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine.

What an extraordinarily attractive man. His hair and eyes were so dark they looked like pieces of the night sky, and there was something regal over the way he held himself, down to the haughty tilt of his chin. He held Naruto’s gaze with an intensity that made Naruto go hot and cold at the same time. Naruto’s skin tingled and, most shocking of all, he got instantly hard.

The man didn’t avert his eyes like a normal person would, like Naruto should have done. He watched Naruto with the same mix of surprise and confusion as Naruto felt too.

Then, all of a sudden, he turned away.

Naruto nearly moved to stop him, but the briefest whiff of fresh air from the door cleared his mind for a moment, and he managed to stop himself just barely. What was happening? The man walked further into the room, but then he turned and looked at Naruto again. He seemed expectant, as though he wanted Naruto to follow him…

In that moment Naruto felt like there was no communication between his brain and the rest of his body. His feet moved on their own volition, following after the stranger. He passed Kiba who gave him a what-the-fuck look, but Naruto barely registered it.

The dark-haired man was leading him to the back of the locale.

Naruto pushed through the crowd and slipped into the slightly quieter hallway that led to the toilets. The man disappeared into the men’s room and Naruto followed. Someplace in the back of his mind he was shocked over what he was doing, but the rest of him barely paid that part of him any heed.

The first cubicle was unoccupied. Naruto followed the man into the narrow space without hesitation, and closed the door. Up close and away from others, the man’s scent hit Naruto like a solid wall of breathtaking sensation. It seemed to soak through every pore on his body. He was certain he could taste it on his tongue just by breathing it in.

It was the most exquisite scent he’d ever encountered. He couldn’t compare it to anything. It was just… just right. Familiar, even though Naruto had never felt anything like it before.

Before he knew what he was doing, he nuzzled the man’s neck. His tongue flicked over his scent glands right under his jaw. The man had his back to Naruto, his hands braced on the cubicle wall. He rubbed his ass up against Naruto’s rock-hard erection, letting out a shivery sigh as he did so.

Naruto had never experienced the effect on an omega in heat’s presence when he was in rut… Not like this. No other scent had ever appealed to Naruto in this way. It wrapped his mind in a blissful haze.

Naruto had never before undressed anyone this effectively. He pulled the man’s pants down and opened his own, freeing his cock, without having any actual recollection of having done it, and then he was pushing into the omega’s hot, wet body without hesitance, without fumbling.

He slid deep inside easily, even though the omega was a little tight. He clenched tight around his cock, so dripping wet that soon they both were sticky from his slick. Naruto gasped against the man’s neck and breathed down even more of that heavenly scent. He was pretty sure one of them keened, but he couldn’t tell if it came from him or from the other man.

The omega was bracing himself hard against the wall, his cheek plastered to the graffitied surface but his lower body jutted out, legs spread. 

Naruto’s fangs ached in his gums.

The pale line of the omega’s throat was mesmerizing. He ran his mouth over the back of his neck, the sharp points of his fangs dragging over sweaty skin.

The omega gasped, his hips jutting.

Naruto grabbed the omega’s hips tighter, fucking him harder. He was gonna come quickly, and judging by the way the omega clenched spastically around his cock, he was too. He drove in deep and shuddered as he came. He clutched the omega tightly, burying his nose against his neck.

The buzzing in his head slowly decreased as he came down from the otherworldly plane of existence he had been elevated to for a moment, and he could think somewhat clearly again. He felt the chest that heaved in his arms, felt the quick, short puffs of breath against his sweaty cheek. And then he felt a strange sensation at the base of his cock. He barely noticed it at first, but then it quickly became uncomfortable.

There was a strange pressure that he wasn’t used to… Oh, crap… He must be knotting.

The sensation was so foreign that his first instinct was to pull away, but his sudden movement pained them both. The omega grabbed Naruto’s ass and pulled him close again.

“What are you doing?” the man snapped. His voice was unexpectedly deep.

“I’m sorry,” Naruto said.

“Have you never knotted before?” The omega sounded a little panicked all of a sudden. “How old are you?”

“I’m 26,” Naruto hurried to say. “Don’t worry. I just… I’ve never been with an omega before, so it’s not like… I’m not a virgin or anything…”

He blushed even as he talked.

The pressure from his knot was still a little uncomfortable, and now that the worst haze of lust had dissipated, he was becoming increasingly aware of the awkward situation. He was intimately tied to a stranger for god knew how long, in a strenuous position in a dirty, public bathroom. He could hear people walking past their cubicle, for heavens sake. How much had those people heard?

“Shit. I… I’ve never done anything like this before,” he said, his words coming out in a rush. He couldn’t help it, but when he was in a difficult situation his mouth just started running. “I’m not sure why I followed you. I should have just left. I mean, this is crazy. We’re in a public place. I don’t do this kinda thing!”

“Keep your voice down,” the omega bit out. “It’s not like I do this often either… It’s the first time for me too.”

Naruto felt all blood leave his face. “Your _first_ time? Like, first time having sex?”

The man snorted. “No. But it’s the first time I’ve jumped on the first and best alpha I found and dragged him to a public restroom.”

“Oh, okay.”

Naruto shifted his feet, trying to find a better position, and his knot, still as firm as ever, pulled on the omega.

“Stop moving,” the omega hissed. “Has no one taught you proper knotting etiquette?”

Naruto frowned. “That exists?”

“Are you stupid?” The omega growled. “Everyone knows you don’t pull on a knot. Are you planning to rip me open?”

Naruto hurriedly pressed closer. “No! Can that happen?”

“Certainly feels that way,” the omega muttered irritably.

He checked his phone. “Are you planning to go down sometime soon? I need to be somewhere.”

“I don’t know!” Naruto said in exasperation. “If you’re on a schedule, maybe you shouldn’t stop in for casual sex.”

“Normal people last maybe five minutes.”

Naruto couldn’t help but feel a bit offended. “Usually it’s a good thing to hold a knot for a long time.”

“Yeah, if you’re planning to set a world record.”

“I just meant … I thought omega’s liked that…”

“As with most things in life, that depends on time, place and company.”

Someone hammered on the door.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” a male voice said. “There’s a line here!”

The omega groaned. “Great. There’s a line. Just what I needed right now.”

They shifted a bit, and Naruto felt a strange sensation go through him. It happened so quickly. One moment he wasn’t feeling any particular desire despite the tingling from the sensitive skin around his knot. Then all of a sudden his balls tightened and his cock filled out fully again. It was like he wasn't entirely finished with his first orgasm yet. He'd never experienced something like this before. He involuntarily thrust into the omega, drawing a surprised moan from him.

Naruto braced his forehead against the omega’s neck. His head felt a bit foggy, but despite that and the onslaught of desire, he waited for a sign that the omega was on the same page as him. As if on cue, he felt him become wet again, adding to the slick already there from earlier.

Naruto thrust in again and reveled in the squelching noise that his movement created. He wished he could see his own cock sliding into that tight, wet hole, but the lighting was so bad. He could feel some slick running down into his pubic hair.

Something came over him that he never had felt before. He was overcome with the need to sink his teeth into soft skin. Since the omega had his back to him, he wasn’t in a position to bite the soft glands on each side of his throat, as was the norm. He’d have to manage with only one gland. He bit the side of the omega’s neck, his fangs sinking into one scent gland.

Just as he did it, he came for the second time. The omega’s scent flooded his nostrils. The headiness of the scent made him dizzy. He clamped his teeth down harder, drawing an obscene moan from the omega.

He was faintly aware that he was making some obscene noises as well. Deep groans that were punctuated with harsh thrusts of his hips that drove his cock as deeply into the omega as he could come. He was pretty sure he lifted the man off the ground for a second.

After what felt like ages he finally came down and released the omega’s neck. The omega sagged against the wall. Naruto just barely managed to catch him before he slid to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Naruto said. His voice was so gruff it surprised even himself.

The omega just nodded.

Naruto helped him to his feet and pulled his pants up for him. The omega seemed completely out of it. Naruto wasn’t unfamiliar with post-orgasmic lethargy, but this was on a new level.

“Can you walk?” Naruto asked after he’d buttoned up the both of them and tried to flatten the omega’s mussed hair.

The omega just stood there, swaying a bit. Then he shook his head.

“Okay… Come here.”

Naruto put an arm around the man’s waist and grabbed his arm and put it around his own shoulders. The omega rested his head on Naruto’s shoulder.

Naruto’s concern for the omega made him forget about the line outside. When he opened the door, the four people waiting outside parted to let them through. Naruto felt their intent eyes on him and blushed from neck to hairline, but there was nothing else to do but to keep walking. Once they joined the throng of the club, the curious eyes would lose sight of them.

Naruto led the omega over to the bar and deposited him on a stool at the corner by the bar.

“Can I have a glass of water?” he asked the bartender, who took one look at the omega and nodded. He quickly returned with the water, and Naruto gave it to the omega.

He hovered nearby as the man drank.

He was not sure what was happening, but he tried to wrack his brain to find out if it was somehow his fault. Had it been the bite? He regretted not taking more interest in alpha-omega relationship biology before. He had long since given up the idea of getting bonded to an omega, despite the fact that when he was still in his teens that had been a dream of his.

To find someone that matched him perfectly, someone that basically was his soulmate, that was everyone’s wish at some point, wasn’t it?

He had just never thought it would happen to him so he hadn’t bothered figuring out what all the hype about neck-biting and knotting was.

Under normal circumstances he would have tried to find Kiba and ask him to help, but something surprisingly ferocious in him balked at the idea of bringing another alpha close to his omega.

Wait… _His_ omega?

While Naruto was distracted scanning the crowd for any approaching alpha’s – dammit, he hadn’t even been aware he was doing that! – the omega had gotten to his feet. He groaned and that was when Naruto’s attention was brought back to him.

“Are you feeling better?” Naruto said, putting a hand on the omega’s arm.

The omega shrugged it off. “I’m fine,” he said testily, rubbing his neck.

“You seem exhausted,” Naruto said. “Maybe you should-“

“I said I’m fine,” the omega snapped. He self-consciously straightened his slightly askew tie. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”

Naruto gaped after him. “Wait!”

The omega moved away so quickly that Naruto didn’t have time to stop him. He hurried after him and caught up to him by the door. “You can’t just leave after…”

The omega slipped out between some people entering the club. Naruto had to stop to let them through before he could get out. He hurried after the omega and caught up to him on the sidewalk. “You can’t just leave me after that!”

It was getting dark. A couple walking past gave the two of them curious glances. The omega was at the curb, looking for a taxi.

“At least give me your name,” Naruto said as he came up next to the man.

“I don’t owe you anything,” the omega said coldly. A taxi stopped at the curb and the omega got in. “You should forget this ever happened.”

“Wait…!”

The car door slammed shut in Naruto’s face. There was nothing he could do save for pulling the man out of the car, and he honestly wasn’t sure he would win that tussle. All he could do was to helplessly watch the car drive away.

“Naruto!”

Naruto barely registered the voice until someone touched his shoulder. Only then did he realize that he was kneeling in the middle of the street. Kiba pulled him to his feet.

“What happened?” he asked. “You looked feral for a moment back there.” He grabbed Naruto’s shoulders. “Hey, Naruto?”

Naruto blinked, drawing himself from the daze. “He left,” he said hoarsely.

“Who was he?” Kiba asked.

“I don’t know… He wouldn’t give me his name. He just… He left me…”

He turned around, staring in the direction the taxi had gone.

“Naruto? I think we should get you home. You seem a bit out of it.”

Dazedly, Naruto let Kiba take him home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned into the ABO version of Cinderella, lol
> 
> Next chapter will be from Sasuke's POV after he leaves Naruto.


	3. Myths

Sasuke felt like crap by the time he arrived at Itachi’s place. His hands were shaking as he rang the bell.

“Otouto,” Itachi said as he opened the door. “You are late. Why didn’t you…?”

He trailed off as he saw Sasuke’s face. Immediately he went into protective mode.

“What happened?”

He hurried Sasuke into the house and placed him in the most comfortable chair in the living room.

By now he must have been starting to pick up on the cocktail of scents that surrounded Sasuke. Itachi had never been a prime example of an alpha. His sense of smell was sub-par in comparison to other alpha’s, and his sex-drive was practically non-existent. He had ruts, but they were barely more than a mild alteration of his scent. Most omega’s couldn’t even pick up on it.

He and Sasuke were both a failure in their father’s eyes. The Uchiha clan had always been known for their formidable alpha offspring, but neither of Fugaku’s son had been able to live up to those standards.

But since their parents never had been there for them, they had learned to trust each other above anyone else.

“I did something stupid,” Sasuke said, his voice wobbly. His body was going completely haywire and it was all thanks to that stupid, blond alpha. “I… I just stopped by for a drink to calm my nerves after work, and…” He fought back the tears.

Damned heat. Damned hormones.

He pressed his hands to his face. He was so ashamed of how he had acted. Just one look from that stupid alpha and suddenly he was moaning against the wall of a toilet stall with people waiting outside, hearing every last bit of it.

“Otouto,” Itachi said soothingly. “Take a deep breath. Good. Breathe calmly…”

“I lost it completely,” Sasuke groaned. “There was an alpha… I don’t know how it happened. He just looked at me and suddenly… I… I couldn’t help myself… I wanted him like I’ve never wanted anything else in my life.”

Itachi sat on the armrest of the chair, rubbing Sasuke’s back. Sasuke leant against his side, allowing himself to hide in his brother’s safe embrace, like he’d done so many times as a child.

“The world won’t end because you had casual sex with a stranger,” Itachi said. “You’re hardly the first one.”

“We didn’t use protection,” Sasuke admitted, his words muffled by Itachi’s sweater.

“…Well, it’s too late to worry about that now. We’ll find a way to deal with it when the time comes.”

“You know there’s a 90 percent chance of pregnancy since I was in heat… and he was in rut too.” Sasuke sat back. “I completely disconnected from everything else the moment I met him. I didn’t think twice about what I was doing. I just did it. And the worst part is that it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

Itachi was quiet for a moment. “Sasuke…” He touched Sasuke’s chin. “Your neck looks swollen.”

Sasuke reached automatically towards the spot on his neck that had been a bit tender. 

Itachi moved Sasuke’s hand away so he could see the spot.

Sasuke noticed the change in his expression even though it was minimal. His eyes went flat, like they did when he was hiding what he really felt.

“What?” Sasuke said. He felt apprehension simmer in his chest. “It isn’t…?”

Itachi’s lips thinned. He looked like he was about to say something, but struggling to find the right words.

Sasuke shot up from his seat and hurried over to the mirror in the hallway.

He tilted his chin to the side. The huge, red bite-mark on his neck was impossible to not notice. It glared accusingly at him.

Sasuke slapped a hand over it. “No…”

No, this couldn’t be… No, no, no…

Itachi was next to him in an instant. “It’s okay, Sasuke,” he said in an attempt to soothe, but Sasuke drew away from him.

“No, it can’t be… I didn’t think that he… When did he…?”

How could he not have noticed that he had been bitten? It was the number one rule if you were to engage in one-night-stands; don’t ever bite your partner. The original reasons for that rule had something to do with some old-fashioned ideas about soul-bonds and accidentally bonding another person. But in the modern day and age it was simply considered incredibly rude and degrading to bite someone without their expressive consent.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” Itachi said. “It’ll fade in no time.”

Sasuke nodded. “Yeah… Yes… It probably will.”

Still, he had an unpleasant feeling roiling in the pit of his stomach.

\-----

That night, Sasuke had the worst heat of his life. He stayed at Itachi’s place because his brother refused to let him out of his sight. Sasuke slept in the guest room. He fell asleep easily, but in the middle of the night he woke up tangled in sheets damp from sweat, rutting against the mattress.

He stopped once he was coherent enough to realize what he was doing. That was when he realized he wasn’t only moist from sweat. He was also so horny that he was sopping wet, his briefs soaked through. He sat up, mortified at having dirtied his brother’s bed. Itachi could never know about this.

Sasuke threw the sheets and his boxers in the washing machine and took a shower. The warm water worked wonders on his tense muscles, but it also heightened his need. He resisted at first, but it didn’t take long before he was desperately jerking off. Coming barely gave him any relief.

It was like the nightmare stories he had heard about heats. He had never personally experienced it before, not until now.

He was too worked up to sleep, so he went down to the kitchen and indulged in the next best thing; food. Neither Itachi nor Sasuke were especially fond of sweets, so it was a stroke of luck that Sasuke found an unopened box of ice cream in the freezer. Itachi would probably have the shock of his life if he’d seen Sasuke now, eating chocolate ice cream right from the box.

The only good thing about this raging horny version of his heat, was that all the other problems he usually had, like achy joints and headaches, hardly bothered him.

He wished he could have them back in exchange for this nightmare.

The worst part was that he couldn’t get that wild fuck in that seedy toilet out of his head. The clogging scent from that alpha filling his nose, his mouth, every part of him… He wanted it so desperately. One moment he cursed himself for leaving without getting the alpha’s name, but the next moment he swore that he’d never see that alpha again if he could help it.

‘He’s out of my life,’ he thought. ‘And that bite mark will be too, soon…’

He ran the tips of his fingers over the tender spot, over his swollen scent gland.

“Oh…” That felt unexpectedly good.

“Sasuke?”

Sasuke shot up from the sofa where he’d been languishing for the past hour.

Itachi was standing in the living room doorway.

“Are you okay?” Itachi asked.

“Yes!” Sasuke said. He was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and an old, worn bathrobe. He had some clothes here since he stayed over some times on the weekends, but he hadn’t put on anything else now since he’d quickly soak it through anyway.

He closed the robe tightly around himself. “I’m fine,” he said in an attempt to sound calm and collected.

Itachi didn’t look convinced. He took another step into the room.

“Don’t!” Sasuke said. Then, a little more calmly, “Don’t come any closer… Please…”

Any other alpha would immediately have noted the change in Sasuke’s scent and stayed back out of respect, but Itachi had never been very good at distinguishing similar scents, and he was so used to Sasuke’s heat scent that he didn’t take any particular notice of it.

He respected Sasuke’s wish, though, and stayed where he was.

“What’s going on?” he asked in concern.

“I’m not sure…” Sasuke admitted. “I don’t feel like myself right now… Could you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Can you do some research on…” His fingertips fluttered over his bite-mark. “Marking during heat?”

Itachi nodded. “I’ll do it right away.”

Sasuke was grateful that Itachi left the room. It was bad enough being so embarrassingly horny when he was alone, but having someone close by to witness it made it so much worse.

\-----

Naruto had thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night, but surprisingly he fell asleep quickly. Kiba had insisted that Naruto stay the night with him, so Naruto slept on Kiba’s couch. He didn’t feel so well, admittedly. It was like he had been separated from his body. He couldn’t distinguish any feelings or thoughts. He just went from A to B in the same old routine. He knew that he needed food, so he ate. He knew that he was supposed to sleep at night, so he slept.

But in the middle of the night, he suddenly found himself wide-awake, soaked through with sweat. He rolled off the couch and hit the floor heavily.

His body was thrumming. It felt like someone had set him alight. He could practically feel the rush of the blood through his veins. The overload of sensations was borderline painful. He crouched on the floor, groaning.

Kiba appeared in the bedroom doorway, but he hesitated when Naruto’s scent hit him.

“Naruto?” he said from where he stood. “Are you okay?”

Naruto groaned something intelligible.

He clambered to his knees and braced himself on the couch.

The memory of that omega’s he’d met at the club suddenly hit him like a solid wall of desire.

“Fuuuuck,” he groaned.

“Naruto,” Kiba said. “Man, you’re scaring me…”

“I just…” Naruto pressed his cheek to the somewhat cool leather couch cushion. “It’s just my rut, I think… That omega… He… It was like something clicked when I met him, you know?”

“I think so, yeah,” Kiba said. “Though I’ve never experienced whatever you’re going through. It’s almost like withdrawals.”

“Being with him… It felt so good. It felt perfect. You know those myths, those about soul mates?”

“Yeah.”

“It felt like that. Like I’d found a missing piece of myself and become whole. So when he left me, it was like… like losing all that. Like you’ve found the treasure you’ve been searching for your whole life, but it’s taken away from you immediately.”

He paused to take a few shivering breaths.

“Do you think it sounds too crazy if I say that… I think I’m connected to him, somehow? What I’m feeling right now… It feels like it’s coming from me, but… There’s something that’s different, like I’m feeling what he’s feeling too. I think it must be difficult for him…”

They were both quiet for a long while. Naruto expected Kiba to go back to his room, but he stayed.

“I bit him,” Naruto said, his voice soft. “I marked him. I know I shouldn’t have, but I had no control over it. Do you think it was a bad thing?”

He looked up from where he was crouched over the couch, his forehead moist with sweat.

Kiba was sitting in the chair that was farthest from Naruto. He respected the potential threat that an alpha in rut posed, even though he knew Naruto well.

He hesitated before answering. “It was rude, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad thing. That omega probably got pretty shaken up, though. Maybe that’s why he ran away from you?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah. I’d understand that.” He rubbed his face with both hands. “I fucked up, didn’t I? It’s all my fault…”

“Maybe he’ll come around,” Kiba said. “If you feel a connection to him, then maybe he does the same.”

“But how will he find me?”

Kiba had no answer to that.

Naruto sighed and placed his head on the couch again. He tried not to focus too much on his achingly hard cock, but the need to get off was insistent. He had a feeling it wouldn’t help much, though. Whatever ailed him had taken a hold of his whole body, and there was no way of relieving that pressure with a simple jerk-off session.

Kiba shifted slightly. Then, after drawing in breath to talk and letting it out again, he finally spoke.

“Are you horny?”

Naruto groaned. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Kiba hesitated again before slowly saying, “I could…”

Naruto knew that it wasn’t unusual among alpha’s to help each other out, though he and Kiba had never been like that. It might have helped a little, but Naruto didn’t want to risk their friendship for a few moments of reprieve.

“Nah,” he said. “Thanks, though.”

Kiba looked both relieved and concerned. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

Naruto thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. Just go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.”

\-----

While Itachi left to do some research, Sasuke succumbed to his newfound food cravings and raided the fridge for any fatty foods. Since it was Itachi’s fridge in question, he didn’t have much luck. Instead he just got ridiculously hyperaware of how many phallic shaped vegetables there existed.

“I’ve officially reached a new low,” he muttered. “Getting excited by vegetables…”

He ate a banana to punish it for confusing his horny mind, but he was still hungry.

He wondered if any takeaway restaurants nearby were open in the middle of the night… 

Itachi came back as Sasuke was ordering pizza.

“I’ve done some digging,” Itachi said, “and I’ve found a few things that I know I’ve heard about before at some point, but that never seemed very important… or realistic. There are a few interesting paragraphs taken from our clans old texts. Do you want me to read it for you or will you read it yourself?”

He seemed like he was about to come closer, so Sasuke hurriedly told him he could read it for him. He sat down on the couch while Itachi stood by the kitchen island.

“You’ve heard about the old, sacred rituals between alpha’s and omega’s?” Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded. Their clan still used them, though in a more diluted format. It was basically the same thing as a marriage.

“These texts explain the original reason behind them. It was to forge a sacred bond between an alpha and an omega; a life-long bond that was sealed with a bite. Or two, to be precise. The bite releases certain hormones in the body, but they are leveled out once the bite is returned. This exchange of marks will help regulate the couple’s bodies so that they become more in sync. The scent of the bonded mates will change slightly so that they’re not as appealing to others anymore.

These are instinctual actions that are still used by most alpha-omega couples.

But, and this is interesting, there are something called lifemates, or soulmates. These are people with an unusually strong connection. The attraction is so strong that they will feel it the moment they meet, as opposed to the more slow development of feelings that are the norm. It was this type of union that the rituals were originally meant for.”

Itachi looked up from his computer to meet Sasuke’s gaze.

“I thought about what you said… You felt like you lost control completely, right?”

Sasuke nodded.

“Though I’m not an expert on these things,” Itachi said, “I’ve rarely heard about anyone who has lost it so completely even though they are in a mating haze. Normally, people regain some sort of composure, although popular media would like us to think otherwise.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes in agreement. There was a prevalent rape culture in the media that didn’t match reality, though it did reflect certain issues.

“The most interesting part is here, though,” Itachi said. “It says that if a bonding bite is left unfinished, it can cause unfortunate side-effects for both parties, though it’ll be most prominent for the one who is bitten. This will normally last until the bite has healed, and if the two keep away from each other for a while, there will be no side-effects. But if soulmates perform an unsatisfactory bonding where only one is bitten, they’ll…”

He stopped abruptly.

“…They’ll what?” Sasuke prompted him.

Itachi had suddenly gone very pale.

“What is it?” Sasuke urged. His brother’s reaction was unsettling him.

“Um…” Itachi hesitated. “It says that their health will slowly deteriorate, and they might suffer great injury or in worst case… it might lead to their death.”

Sasuke froze for a long moment.

“But that’s just… It’s just some old scripts. That soulmate thing is just a myth. Everyone knows that.”

Itachi schooled his face into a gentle smile. “Yes. It’s just some old stories.”

The doorbell rang. Sasuke jolted. It was almost four o’clock in the morning. Who could it be? Then he realized…

“It’s the pizza.”

He got to his feet but Itachi moved faster. “I’ll take care of it,” he said.

Sasuke sat down again. He’d almost forgotten about his heat for a moment (what a novelty). It was wise not to overwhelm the delivery guy with his clogging scent. Sasuke could smell his own scent, but to him it wasn’t overwhelming. Neither was it to Itachi. He knew that it could be to others, though, so he tried to be as considerate as possible. Especially now that he seemed to emit even more scent than usual.

He thought about the soulmate myth… Could it really be…?

An image of the blond alpha flashed through his mind. The memory of his scent was ingrained in his very being. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.

No. It couldn’t be. It sounded too bizarre. Besides, there was neither room nor time for someone else in his life right now.

He would get through this on his own.


	4. Disturbance

Sasuke fell asleep at around six in the morning, and woke up to his alarm at seven. When he came downstairs fully dressed in the suit from yesterday, Itachi gave him an incredulous look.

“You’re not planning to go to work?”

“I have to,” Sasuke said. “They’re expecting me to succumb to my heat. I have to show them that I’m stronger than that.” He took a huge gulp of a scolding cup of newly brewed coffee. “Besides, I’m feeling much better already. It’ll be fine.”

“Sasuke… This isn’t a good idea…”

Sasuke didn’t have time to listen to whatever his brother had to say. He grabbed a croissant from Itachi’s plate and hurried off with a quick good bye. At the last minute he grabbed a dark blue silk scarf from his brother’s coat hanger and bound it around his neck to hide the bite mark.

He took the train to work and arrived a few minutes later than usual thanks to almost getting lost on the way. He’d never arrived at work by train before.

He half-expected the atmosphere to be different, but most of his department, which consisted of beta’s, hadn’t even noticed what went on with him yesterday, and for the rest it wasn’t really that unusual.

Only when Sasuke closed the door to his office behind him, did he realize how tense he’d been. He’d been worried that the alpha that had cornered him in the hallway yesterday should try something again, but everything seemed calm.

Sasuke took a few painkillers and set to work. He tried to keep his focus on the task at hand, but as the minutes passed he struggled more and more to ignore the hot flashes and the incessant thrum that coursed through him with each heartbeat. He bit his teeth together, refusing to give in to his body, but about an hour after he’d arrived he was barely able to get any work done.

He rubbed his temples and tried to calm down, but it felt like every inch of his skin was aflame with sensation. He curbed a insistent need to tear his suddenly very constricting shirt off.

His secretary dropped in to remind him about something or other. Sasuke didn’t catch a single word he said.

“Excuse me,” Sasuke said breathlessly, “I need to…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but pushed past the secretary and hurried through the open office. On his way he passed by Daiki and his group of alpha friends.

“You know the one in human resource,” one of them was saying, “the one with the sweet ass?”

The other’s voiced their agreement. Sasuke wondered how they could think it was okay to speak like that, loudly and in the middle of the office while they were supposed to be working. The last head of the department had been an alpha. Perhaps he had endorsed this kind of behavior.

Daiki looked up, met Sasuke’s eyes and smirked.

“I’ve never been with a male omega, though,” he said loudly. “I hear it’s an acquired taste.”

The other alpha’s laughed. They had noticed Sasuke too and they knew Daiki was referring to him.

If it had been any other time, Sasuke would have stopped and ordered them back to work, but at the moment he was in no shape to take on a bunch of alpha’s, so he fled into the hallway instead. He needed to get away from people. He headed towards the less crowded part of the floor, where the meeting rooms were. At the moment they were blessedly deserted.

He went into the thankfully empty restroom at the end of the hall and splashed some cold water on his hot face.

He stared into his own eyes in the mirror. His pupils were blown so wide they were swallowing half of the iris.

What the fuck was happening to him?

\-----

“You look like shit,” Sakura said.

Naruto took a deep gulp of coffee. It tasted like sand. “Thank you,” he grumbled.

Sakura chuckled. “What happened? Did you get repeatedly run over by a truck? Or…” She wriggled her eyebrows. “Did you do the running over, if you get what I mean?”

“Yeah, you’re about as subtle as that truck you mentioned.”

“Whoa. Someone’s grumpy today.”

Naruto slid into his seat with a heavy flop and turned on his computer.

“Didn’t sleep all night,” he said.

Sakura placed a hand on his forehead. “Are you running a fever? Maybe you should have stayed at home.”

Naruto shook his head. “Rut,” he said.

“Oh…” Sakura knew him well enough to leave him alone after that, though she dropped by now and then to ask how he was doing and bring him some water. He was grateful for her kindness, though he wasn’t in a mood to express it very well.

As the day wore on, Naruto just felt worse. After his fourth trip to the restroom to try and do something about his insistent hard-on, he realized he might have to call it quits. On his way back to the office he met Nagato, the only one of the omega’s in his department that he got along with. 

“Hey,” Nagato said and stopped. “Are you feeling okay?”

Naruto was surprised by the question. He shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

“Um… Not to sound rude, but I thought you might want to know that your scent has changed since yesterday, and, well…” He made an apologetic gesture. He was a shy guy, so it must take a lot for him to tell Naruto this. “A few of the omega’s have gone into heat.”

Naruto’s hazy mind had been drifting a bit, but now he really paid attention to what Nagato was saying. “What? Because of me?”

Nagato nodded. He blushed. “It has started a chain-reaction, with other alpha’s going into rut. I think Tsunade wants to talk to you about it. She told me to send you to her office.”

Naruto was still reeling from the fact that he’d been able to throw an omega into heat. “Are you sure it’s my fault?” he said.

Nagato nodded. “Yeah. One hundred percent.” He blushed a little and hurried off.

Naruto went straight to Tsunade’s office.

“What’s up, old hag?”

Tsunade glared. “Let’s cut right to the chase, brat. You’re wreaking havoc here, go home.”

Naruto threw his arms open wide. “What if it isn’t me?”

“It’s you,” Tsunade said. “Do you think I haven’t investigated properly? Three omega’s have been here to complain, and they were all completely sure that this was your fault.”

“What did I do, exactly?”

“Beats me. You must have turned into some kind of aphrodisiac because the libidos are running wild around here. You know our policy. You can stay at work during mating cycles _ as long as you’re not a disturbance to others _ . And you have definitely become a disturbance.” She sighed. “Don’t look so proud about it.”

“I’m not,” Naruto muttered and wiped the grin from his face.

“It’s Friday,” Tsunade said. “Take an early weekend. Go do something fun.”

Naruto was about to leave when Tsunade stopped him. “Wait. Can you bring this to Orochimaru on your way out?”

Naruto groaned. “Are you seriously sending me to him while I’m in rut?”

Orochimaru creeped him out. Feeling his eyes on him was like having snakes slithering over every inch of his body.

“You only have to deliver it to his secretary,” Tsunade said. “You’ve gotten so little work done here today, it’s the least you can do.”

Naruto grumbled under his breath. “Fine.”

\-----

“The director wants to speak with you,” Sasuke’s secretary said the moment he came back. Sasuke had considered going home for the day, but he couldn’t refuse to see the director, so he immediately turned on his heel and hurried to the director’s office.

It took a few seconds after Sasuke had knocked before a slithery cold voice told him to enter. The room was semi-dark.

“You wanted to see me,” Sasuke said stiffly. He was glad the other man was an omega too. At least he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Sasuke’s scent.

The man behind the desk turned around in his chair and stood slowly.

Always with the penance for dramatics, Sasuke thought.

“Sasuke,” Orochimaru said, drawing out his name so that it sounded like a caress.

Sasuke suppressed a shudder.

“There have been some complaints from your department,” Orochimaru said. “They say you’re not fit to be at work.”

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said slowly. “But I don’t think I follow…”

“It seems your heat is making it difficult for the others to focus. Maybe it would have been advisable to stay at home until it has passed.”

“My heat is not normally as bad as this,” Sasuke said. “It has been worse than usual. I thought it would blow over, but…”

Orochimaru waved his hand dismissively. “I’m giving you leave to go home. Get some rest. You look like you haven’t slept for days.”

Sasuke hesitated. “I think someone in the department is out to get me… They’re just-“

Orochimaru sat down and made a cutting motion with his hand, a clear sign for Sasuke to shut up.

“Let’s make this clear, Sasuke. I was once in your position. I met just the same kind of resistance, and then some. But to get up and ahead in this world, you have to swallow your pride sometimes. Don’t make unnecessary enemies.”

“But-!”

“That’s enough.” Orochimaru’s voice was suddenly very cold. “For everyone’s sake, take some time off. I’m sure you’ll be looking at things differently on Monday.”

Sasuke bowed stiffly. “Thank you.”

On his way back to his office he was in deep thought. He couldn’t believe Orochimaru, another omega, had used exactly the same rhetoric as so many others had used against omegas before. ‘Take some time off’, ‘I’m sure you’ll be looking at things differently’. Like he was a child they could tell what to feel and do.

He was so pissed off that he didn’t notice the sudden change in atmosphere until it was too late. Someone was coming towards him down the hallway, someone blond and familiar.

Sasuke didn’t connect the dots until his whole sensory system slammed right into the rich, enamoring scent surrounding the alpha. He stopped as abruptly as though he’d run into a wall.

The alpha stopped too, his eyes glued to Sasuke.

“It’s you…! You work here?”

Sasuke had been thinking the exact same thing.

This couldn’t be happening.

As he was standing there gaping, his body was going into overdrive. If he stayed a second longer, he had no idea what he’d end up doing. He’d already learned how embarrassingly little control he had on himself around this alpha.

In an impressive show of willpower, he turned away and kept walking.

“Wait!”

Unbelievable. Now the alpha was following him.

“Tell me your name at least!” the alpha said.

“Leave me alone,” Sasuke snarled.

“Please… I just want to know if you’re okay after… you know…”

Sasuke stopped abruptly.

“I mean… “ the alpha said sheepishly, “If you’re pregnant, I want you to know I’m here for-“

“If it turns out that I’m pregnant, I’m not keeping it,” Sasuke said. “So save your speech.”

He didn’t have time to wait for the elevator, so he hurried down the stairs and into the first and best restroom. He locked himself into a stall and stood there for a moment, trying to collect himself.

That alpha had an uncanny effect on him. The wound on his neck throbbed, as did other parts of him. Fuck… He was getting wet too. He hurried to clean up before he stained his clothes and hoped the alpha’s in his department wouldn’t be able to pick up the scent.

Then he hurried back to his office and told his secretary that he was taking the rest of the day off. Most of the others had gone to lunch, so no one asked questions as he left.

As he stood in the elevator, his temper cooled a little.

Maybe he’d been too harsh on that alpha… The information that Itachi had found still haunted him. It was unlikely that it was true, but was he willing to take the chance and risk the health and perhaps even the life of not only himself but someone else too?

Maybe he should have gotten the alpha’s name so that he at least could keep an eye on him.

He took the elevator down to the garage where his car had been parked since yesterday. The moment he got into his car, a safe, secure place for him, he felt the strain that had weighed down on him for the last few days. He felt bone weary. All he wanted now was to go home and sleep so that he could get through this hellish heat and move on.

\-----

Naruto ran a hand over his face. The door to the stairwell slammed behind the omega.

“Well, that went well,” Naruto muttered.

It took all the willpower he had not to run after him.

At least now he knew where the guy worked.

It occurred to him, suddenly, that this omega must have been the same one that had affected his rut so strongly all along.

He stood there for a moment, trying to calm himself after the impromptu meeting that had sent his already overwhelmed body into complete turmoil. He prayed that no one came down the hallway as he adjusted his painfully hard erection. He had no other choice but to go to the reception and deliver the parcel from Tsunade, hoping that the secretary wouldn’t notice the awkward situation he was in.

There was no need to worry, though, because the secretary barely glanced at him.

He took his time walking home. It wasn’t as inhumanly warm as it had been yesterday, and the streets were less crowded this time of day so he could walk along at his own leisure.

By a fountain in a quiet park area sat an alpha and omega couple. They were completely engulfed in each other. As Naruto walked past, they leant in to nose each other’s scent glands. Their scents mingled together so that it was impossible to tell one from the other.

Naruto looked away, aware that he was staring.

Long after he returned home, the memory of them remained like a hollow space inside of him; a reminder of what he could have had. 


	5. Weakening

Naruto couldn’t remember falling asleep. He could barely remember coming home the other day. He had gone straight to bed and slept right through half a day and the whole night. It didn’t make him feel more refreshed, though. If anything, his head just felt more muddled and his body heavier.

He was halfway through breakfast when he got a belated idea.

Yesterday, when he had met the omega that set all his senses alight, he could have asked Orochimaru’s secretary who the man was. The omega had seemingly come from his office.

But it was too late now.

If he asked the secretary on Monday, she probably wouldn’t remember.

He called Kiba to unload his laments. Kiba, of course, advised Naruto to go out and drown his sorrows, or preferably to find an omega to ride out his rut with.

Naruto didn’t think he could find any omega, or another person in general, that could come up to par with what he’d had with the dark-haired omega. That thought just made him even more depressed.

“Then let’s just go out drinking,” Kiba said. “It’s been a while since we’ve met up with the old gang. We should get everyone together again.”

Naruto perked up a bit at the thought of meeting up with his old friends from college.

The gang included Kiba and Sakura, as well as Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Sai, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Lee and Tenten. Neji, Lee and Tenten couldn’t make it, but the rest of them met up in the shabby little bar where they had used to meet every weekend during college.

Everyone was in a good mood already when Naruto arrived. He felt a bit sluggish and had considered not going, but it felt more depressing to stay at home alone. 

His friends greeted him with a chorus of well wishes. Soon he was swept off in their energy and almost entirely forgot about his own tired body.

Hours had passed and everyone was good and drunk by the time the party was moved to a club. At the moment it seemed to Naruto like a great idea. His friend’s good mood was contagious and soon he was out on the dance floor with the others.

This was not an alpha/omega-meeting-spot type of place, so he didn’t expect to be picked up. For the most part the people surrounding him were betas. But in the middle of the crowd it was difficult to separate one scent from the others, so the scent of an omega in heat caught Naruto completely unaware. He didn’t notice the omega woman until she was right next to him.

His body was immediately interested, but his mind was not.

She smiled and drew her long, silky hair away from her shoulder, exposing her scent glands.

Naruto swallowed thickly. His friends were suddenly nowhere to be seen, so at the moment he was on his own.

The woman leant in close so that she could be heard over the music. “Wanna head out of here?”

The blunt way alpha’s and omega’s interacted during mating season had never appealed to Naruto. The image of the dark-haired male omega looking over his shoulder at him as he led him to the restroom flashed through his mind. That had been a special case. Naruto took a step away from the woman.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m not looking for anything like that.”

The woman looked a little annoyed. “But you’re not bonded.”

She could tell because someone who wasn’t bonded let out a certain type of scent that screamed single. Naruto considered lying and saying he was dating a beta, but he wasn’t sure that would derail her. 

“I’m here with my friends,” he said. “So… thanks, but…”

The woman shrugged. “Never mind. I’ll find someone more willing. Though if I were you, I’d try to tune it down. Your scent is giving people the wrong signals.”

Naruto just stood there gaping as she sashayed away.

He stood there until Kiba came over to him. “Why did you send her away? She was really hot.”

“I don’t like casual sex,” Naruto said. Kiba gave him a look that said ‘last-night-says-differently’, so Naruto hurried to derail him, “Where’s Sai? I have to ask him something.”

Sai was sitting by the bar. He and Ino were the only ones of his friends who were omega’s.

“Hey…” Naruto moved closer to him and lowered his voice, even though it was so noisy around them that no one would be able to eavesdrop. “Do you think I smell… different?”

Sai set his drink down. “I’m glad you asked. I wanted to tell you that you smell like an alpha whore house, but Ino and Sakura threatened to beat me up.”

Naruto suddenly felt like every person in the club was staring at him.

“Why didn’t you guys tell me sooner,” he hissed. “I’m like a free meal here. What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to stink like this!”

“Well, there’s not much to do,” Sai said, cocking his head, “Except finding a willing omega. Your scent should help you with that.”

“I don’t want just anyone.”

Suddenly Ino appeared next to them. “Why did you let that woman walk away?” she asked Naruto. “She was _superhot_!”

Naruto stood. “I don’t feel well. I think I’m going home.”

Ino sighed. “You always run away when things get complicated.”

“I smell like a whore house,” Naruto hissed.

Ino glared at Sai. “I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t tell him.”

Sai shrugged. “He asked.”

“I can’t believe you just let me go around like this,” Naruto said. “That omega accused me of false advertising!”

Ino rolled her eyes. “There’s always gonna be some douche who thinks you owe them something.”

“But I _am_ sending out the wrong signals. My body is telling every omega in here that I want to get laid, but I don’t! I should have just stayed home.”

He pushed past Ino and Sai and made his way to the exit. Outside in the relatively cool air he felt a bit calmer.

A moment later, Kiba joined him on the curb.

“Are you okay?” Kiba asked.

Naruto put his head in his hands. “I keep thinking of him all the time.”

Kiba didn’t need to ask whom he was talking about. “Now that you know where he works, maybe you can try to talk with him?”

“He seemed to hate me. What if I…” Naruto’s voice faltered. “What if I raped him?”

Kiba hesitated. “I dunno… It’s not like you forced him. And he seemed to like it, right?”

“But he wasn’t in control of himself…”

“Neither were you.”

“I’m not sure if that makes it better…”

“Wasn’t he the one who initiated it?”

“I should have known better, though. I should have stopped and walked away…”

Kiba grabbed Naruto’s shoulder, nudging him so that he looked at him. “Naruto, I’ve known you half my life and I know that whatever made you hook up with a stranger in a public place is some seriously strong stuff. Even when you’re basically wading through your rut like you are now, you turn down one of the hottest omega’s I’ve ever seen. I don’t have half the willpower you have.”

“It’s just because I’m being picky,” Naruto said.

Kiba snorted. “I don’t think being picky has anything to do with it… You seem to look for something more than just a physical thing. It’s so important to you that even in the middle of a bad rut you won’t settle for anyone.” He sighed. “What I’m trying to say is that whatever happened yesterday was completely out of your control. I don’t think you could have done anything differently. I couldn’t believe my own eyes when I saw you following after him. It was like you were hypnotized.”

Naruto stared down at his folded hands. “That still doesn’t change what happened. If you had heard him when he told me off you would understand. It was like he couldn’t stand me.”

Kiba sighed. “Then he’s probably just an asshole.”

\-----

“Sasuke…”

Sasuke closed his eyes tight against the bright light that burned against his eyelids.

“Sasuke!”

There was a tinge of worry in Itachi’s voice.

…Itachi?

Sasuke tried to collect his thoughts. Where was he? Judging by the smells around him, he was in his own bed. So why was Itachi there?

Sasuke stirred. “’Tachi?” he slurred. “What’s wrong?”

He tried to sit up, but his body felt like goo. His head spun so he slumped back on the pillow.

“The light… too bright…” he muttered.

Itachi immediately closed the curtains. Then he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Why are you here?” Sasuke croaked. “What… How long have I slept?”

“I don’t know,” Itachi said. “It’s Sunday now.”

Sasuke took a moment to collect his thoughts. “… Sunday?”

The last thing he remembered was getting home on Friday and going straight to bed… Had he really slept for 48 hours?!

“That can’t be right,” he said.

“I got worried when you didn’t answer my messages, or my calls,” Itachi said. “How are you feeling? Are you running a fever?” He placed a hand on Sasuke’s forehead.

“It’s just my heat,” Sasuke said.

“It shouldn’t be this bad after so many days. You seem to have gotten worse.”

“I’m fine,” Sasuke grumbled. He curled up on his side, tucking the sheets tight around himself. He felt like sleeping for a week.

“I’ll make you some food,” Itachi said. “You need to eat.”

Sasuke just hm’ed. He was already falling back asleep. 

\-----

Naruto woke up on Sunday feeling like he hadn’t slept for a week. He made himself coffee in a daze and forgot to put water in the coffee maker. He didn’t realize his mistake until he had stood there for five minutes, waiting.

He hadn’t been drinking that much yesterday, so he didn’t understand why he felt this way.

The whole day went by in a sluggish haze. He fell asleep on the couch around lunchtime and didn’t wake up until his phone started ringing.

“Yea…” he muttered into the receiver.

“What’s up, man?” Kiba said. “I’ve called you three times.”

“What?” Naruto frowned. “I’ve been right next to my phone all day.”

“So you were just ignoring me, then.”

Naruto struggled to sit upright. His head spun. “No, I’m serious. My phone was literally right next to me. I slept so deeply that I didn’t hear it. I feel kinda dizzy and weird too.”

“You know… there’s this thing called a hangover…”

“I wasn’t that drunk. And it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Maybe you’re coming down with something. I was gonna ask you if you wanted to grab something to eat, but I guess you’d better stay at home.”

“Yeah… See you tomorrow.”

Naruto couldn’t get any of this to add up. He didn’t feel hung-over or sick. It just felt like his body had been sucked dry and now he didn’t have an ounce of energy left to do as much as make a sandwich.

He figured it’d pass after he got himself some more sleep, so he went to bed. He was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

\-----

Naruto wasn’t entirely sure how he got himself to work on Monday, but here he was.

“Wow… “ Sakura said as she stopped by. “You look even more like shit than you did last week.”

“Thanks,” Naruto grumbled. “It’s very nice of you to point it out.”

She sat down on the edge of his desk. “Maybe you should have stayed home. I mean… It looks like you dragged yourself to work by your teeth.”

It wasn’t far from the truth. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about me. Go do your job.”

Sakura hesitantly left him to his own.

It was only half an hour later, when Naruto was dozing at his desk, that Nagato came over.

He tapped Naruto’s shoulder lightly. “Naruto? Are you okay?”

Naruto blinked. “Hm? Yeah, I’m fine… Just had a rough weekend.”

Nagato looked skeptical. He leant closer and lowered his voice. “Your scent is… strange. I’m wondering if… Perhaps you should see a doctor?”

Naruto squinted at Nagato. Why was his face so blurry looking? He heard himself talk like he was standing at the other end of a tunnel.

“It’s fine… Fine…”

He blinked but couldn’t get rid of the black spots that crowded his vision. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

\-----

Sasuke woke up to someone shaking him.

“What…?” he grumbled

“Sasuke.” It was Itachi’s voice. “I brought a doctor to take a look at you. Can you sit up?”

Sasuke didn’t get around to try before he was pulled into a sitting position. He leant heavily on Itachi. He felt so weak…

He heard voices around him like they were coming from somewhere far away.

“...enough liquid?”

“…managed to make him eat a bit…”

Sasuke felt cold fingers on his throat. He recoiled.

“…that’s an ugly mark…”

“Do you think…?”

The voices faded in and out of focus.

“I’ve seen different reactions to a broken bond,” he suddenly heard the doctor say, “but this is unusual.”

Sasuke made an attempt to join the conversation. “What… What do you mean… broken bond?”

“Since your mating bond wasn’t fulfilled, your body will go through a period of usually milder withdrawal symptoms. Some experience stronger reactions than others, but your reaction is so severe that I suspect that there must be some underlying illness.”

“Could it be…?” Itachi hesitated. “I recently read about soulmates. Is that a possibility?”

The doctor looked skeptical. “I’ve never heard of that kind of thing outside myths, so I strongly doubt it. My advice is that you’ll wait and see if he gets better soon. If not, we have to hospitalize him to ensure that he gets enough nutrition.”

After the doctor left, Sasuke laid down on the bed again.

Itachi kneeled next to him. “Won’t you try to eat?”

“I feel so tired, Itachi… I just want to sleep.”

Itachi ran a gentle hand through Sasuke’s matted hair. “Sasuke… If I could find that alpha who marked you… Would you be willing to see him?”

Sasuke considered this for a long moment. His thoughts moved as sluggishly as the rest of him.

“Yes,” he said at last. “I can’t risk it… If he’s feeling like this too…”

“Then I’ll start searching right away.”

“Wait. I think he works at Senju Corp. I met him… Friday…”

Itachi checked his watch. “It’s lunch-time now. I’ll go over there right now. Can you manage alone?”

Sasuke nodded.

\-----

Naruto gasped.

He was sitting on the floor, wet from the cold water someone had thrown in his face. Around him stood Nagato, Sakura, Kiba, and Tsunade, and at least ten other curious faces peered over their shoulders.

“Go back to work,” Tsunade barked at them.

Naruto put a hand to his head. “What happened?”

“You fainted,” Nagato said.

He reached out a hand and pulled Naruto to his feet.

Sakura was holding an empty cup in her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I panicked.”

Naruto drew his wet hair away from his forehead. “It’s okay…” He became acutely aware of the half-worried, half-intrigued looks everyone was giving him.

“I think it’s about time you went to see a doctor,” Tsunade said.

Naruto had to admit that it was sound advice.

“I’ll go with him,” Kiba said. “To see that he gets there safely.”

Tsunade nodded. “Good.”

Kiba hovered around Naruto as though he feared he’d faint again.

“I’m fine,” Naruto grumbled. “You don’t have to stand so close.”

Kiba moved half a step away from him.

“Your scent has changed since Saturday,” Kiba said as they stood in the elevator.

Naruto was so tired of having a scent transmitter that disclosed every single little detail about his emotional state.

“What do I smell like now?” he said wearily.

Kiba hesitated before saying, “It’s difficult to explain, but it’s almost like your scent has gone bad. It’s not rancid or anything, it’s just… I don’t know how to explain it… it’s kinda dark and thick.”

Naruto sighed. “Great.”

He made the mistake of looking at himself in the mirror and recoiled. The bags under his eyes were gigantic.

As they walked through the foyer, a man walked in through the front door and headed for the reception. He had long, black hair in a low ponytail and his face reminded Naruto so strongly of the dark-haired omega that he stopped and stared.

“What is it?” Kiba said.

“That man… He looks a lot like...”

The man was talking to the woman in the reception now. Naruto walked towards him.

“Excuse me,” he said.

The man turned around and Naruto stared in shock. His eyes looked exactly the same as the dark-haired omega’s.

“Yes?” the man said.

By now, Naruto was close enough to catch the man’s scent. A full body shiver went through him as he located two scents on him; one alpha scent and another, much more familiar omega scent.

A strange, muddled rush of emotions went through Naruto’s already frazzled body. He had to take a second to collect himself so that he didn’t start growling at the guy for having been in contact with his... um… with the omega.

“Do you work here?” he asked as calmly as he could.

The man looked puzzled. “No, but my brother does.”

Naruto felt dizzy. The lingering scent from the omega was overwhelming.

“I think that I might know your brother,” he said.

The man looked very intently at Naruto. “You _think_?”

“His scent is on you… I…” Black spots invaded Naruto’s vision. Not again. “I’m sorry… for marking him…” was the last thing he managed to say before he fainted.


	6. Yielding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally they meet again

Naruto came to in a sleek, fancy car with leather seats. For a moment he was very confused, but then he recognized Kiba’s scent and calmed down a little. His friend was sitting next to him and gave him a reassuring smile.

“He’s taking us to your omega,” Kiba said.

Naruto sat up straighter in his seat. “Really? But I can’t see him like this.”

He gestured to his rumpled, water-stained clothes and generally ruffled appearance.

“Don’t worry,” said the omega’s brother. “Sasuke isn’t much better off.”

Sasuke… Finally the omega had a name.

“I’m Naruto,” Naruto said. “And thank you…”

“Itachi.” The alpha smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “Itachi Uchiha.”

Naruto froze. Uchiha…? As in…?

“You… You don’t mean you’re from  _ the _ Uchiha-clan?”

Itachi smiled. “The one and only.”

Naruto’s head was spinning. “Then Sasuke too…”

“Yes. But don’t worry. We’re mere mortals despite what the legends say.”

The ancient Uchiha clan used to rule the land centuries ago, overseeing the ritual ceremonies between soulmates and producing the finest alpha’s that had walked this earth. They were said to have descended from the gods, though obviously that was not a common belief anymore.

Nevertheless, Naruto felt a bit of trepidation about associating with such a prominent name.

“Calm down,” Kiba muttered so that Itachi wouldn’t hear, “you’re just banging him.”

Naruto wondered if that really was why Itachi was bringing him to Sasuke.

Itachi pulled up in front of an apartment complex. He stopped the car and turned around in his seat.

“Have you heard of soulmates before?” he said.

Naruto was taken aback by the strange question. “Yeah…?” he said hesitantly.

“What do you think about it?”

Naruto shrugged. “It’s something everyone dreams of, I guess. But it’s just a myth.”

“What if it isn’t? And what if you could get seriously ill from keeping a distance to your soulmate?”

Naruto was starting to understand what Itachi was getting at.

“I’ve brought you to my brother,” Itachi said, “because he’s really sick. I’m not sure any of this is true, but you marked him and everyone knows that an unfulfilled bonding can lead to complications. Normally it’s just mild symptoms, but this is something else. I’m really worried about Sasuke. Are you willing to go and see him, to see if you can help him?”

Naruto couldn’t do much else but nod. He wasn’t sure what to make out of what Itachi had told him, but he’d do anything to see Sasuke again.

Itachi got out of the car. “Come with me.”

Kiba grabbed Naruto’s arm. “Take this,” he said, and slipped Naruto a couple of condoms.

Naruto stared at his friend. “Do you normally bring condoms to work?”

“I had some left over from the weekend,” he grumbled and shoved Naruto towards the door. “Just go.”

Itachi led Naruto into the apartment complex and up the stairs. Already on the first floor, Naruto could feel the gentle sweetness of Sasuke’s scent beckoning him. Naruto wanted to run up the stairs but he didn’t out of respect for Itachi. He was grateful the man was willing to lead him, a complete stranger, to his weakened brother.

They walked in silence for three flights. Finally, Itachi stopped in front of a door and unlocked it.

“I’ll go and tell him you’re here,” he said. “You can wait in the living room.”

Naruto walked into a cloud of a heavenly calming and gentle smell. Sasuke’s apartment was, naturally, filled with his scent.

Naruto forced himself to stand in the middle of the room and not fall for the temptation to pick up a pillow or blanket and breathe in the scent.

He wasn’t that desperate. Yet.

Itachi returned after a short moment. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he said, and then he added, “If you hurt him in any way, I won’t hesitate to hunt you down and cut your balls off.” Then he smiled and patted Naruto’s shoulder. “I’ll be heading home.”

He left Naruto standing there with his mouth ajar.

But as soon as the door clicked shut behind Itachi, Naruto’s focus shifted towards the source of the scent that enveloped him like a soft blanket. He moved towards what turned out to be Sasuke’s bedroom.

The bed was a mess: a jumble of sheets and blankets and pillows.

Naruto sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Um… Hi,” he said. He felt a bit stupid, talking to a bunch of rumpled bedclothes. “So… I heard you weren’t feeling well… I’m Naruto, by the way. I guess we never really exchanged names.”

He paused, hoping for a response. He got none.

“I’m not sure if you remember me,” Naruto continued. “I work at Senju Corp, in marketing. You met me in the hallway on Friday.”

Still no answer. Was Sasuke even awake?

Naruto started pulling away a corner of the heap of sheets and blankets. He pulled away layer after layer until he finally uncovered Sasuke’s hand. It was intensely warm to the touch.

Sasuke shifted, withdrawing his hand into the safety of his den.

It occurred to Naruto that Sasuke might not actually want him there. He had been very dismissive when they met at work. But if Itachi had talked to him, then he must have agreed to this. Right?

“I’m sorry about that incident in the club…” Naruto said. “I know I shouldn’t have bitten you. I’m really, really sorry about that. I’d like to make it up to you somehow…”

Sasuke remained silent.

His smell was so overwhelming… Naruto clutched a handful of blankets in his hand, bringing them up to his face and discreetly breathing in. God. How could someone smell so incredibly good? He just wanted to bury himself in the pile of blankets together with Sasuke, but not unless Sasuke explicitly told him to.

When Sasuke didn’t seem willing to respond anytime soon, Naruto went back to the living room where the scent was less overwhelming. He looked out the window. Itachi and Kiba had left.

He sent Kiba a message.

‘I don’t know what to do. He’s ignoring me.’

After a few minutes, Kiba called.

“Hey, Casanova,” he said.

Naruto sighed. “More like the opposite.”

“What’s he doing? Just giving you the cold shoulder?”

“Yeah, he’s nesting or something? I tried to talk to him but he won’t answer me.”

He heard Kiba relay what he’d been saying, presumably to Itachi.

Kiba returned to the phone. “I think omega’s start nesting if they need to feel safe. Itachi said that Sasuke has been doing it for the last few days. He also said that you should just stick around. Your scent will probably be enough to start calming him down. He’ll come to you when he’s ready.”

Naruto did as Kiba said and waited.

He took off his shoes and jacket and sat down on the couch. Then he picked up a piece of clothing, a black hoodie, from the armrest and pressed it to his face. He breathed in deeply. The scent sent small pangs of delight through him. He breathed in again and only vaguely felt creepy about it.

Sasuke’s scent calmed him a little.

That gave him an idea. If Sasuke was just as affected by Naruto’s scent as the other way around, then maybe he’d like to have a piece of Naruto’s clothing.

Naruto took off his shirt and wadded it up. Then he rubbed it against his scent glands just to make sure that it smelled more of him than of anyone else he’d been in contact with.

Since he didn’t have anything else to wear, he put on Sasuke’s hoodie. It was a little snug on him but it fit all right. He hoped Sasuke wouldn’t think he was a complete creep for wearing his clothes, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He left his shirt on Sasuke’s bed. When he checked in a few minutes later, it was gone.

\-----

Time ticked past slowly while Naruto waited. Eventually the sun set so he turned on some lights. Then he turned on the TV but turned the sound down so that it wouldn’t disturb Sasuke.

Naruto was getting really hungry, but he didn’t want to raid Sasuke’s fridge so he ordered a pizza.

He felt a bit like an intruder, making himself at home in a stranger’s home, but if he was completely honest with himself, he had to admit that nothing short of Sasuke telling him to fuck off could get him to leave.

He was halfway through the pizza when Sasuke appeared in the bedroom doorway. His hair was tousled and his cheeks were pink, probably from the heat of his blanket den, and he was wearing a black robe that he clutched around himself.

Naruto froze.

He feared this was the moment when he was thrown out.

But Sasuke barely looked at him. Instead he went right for the pizza.

Huh. So the pizza was more alluring than him, Naruto thought. If he had known that, he would have ordered food a long time ago.

Sasuke sat down next to him on the sofa and dug into a slice of pizza. He ate like he hadn’t seen food for days… Maybe he hadn’t. Itachi had seemed extremely concerned. It had sounded like Sasuke had been severely ill. But now he was sitting there, eating pizza only two feet away from Naruto, his eyes fixed on the TV screen as though Naruto wasn’t even there.

Naruto lifted the slice of pizza he’d been eating when Sasuke appeared, hoping that the food smell could override the intense smell that Sasuke gave off. It was no use, of course.

Naruto’s eyes were drawn to Sasuke’s naked knees and the small sliver of his thigh that had been exposed when he sat down. He wondered if Sasuke was naked underneath that robe…

His cock throbbed. Fuck. He wished that the hoodie could have been long enough to hide his crotch, because he was painfully hard and it was showing. 

After eating three pizza slices in record time, Sasuke got up from the couch and went back to his bedroom. Naruto sat there completely bewildered until Sasuke turned in the doorway and said one, single word.

“Come.”

Naruto shot up from the couch like he’d been summoned. By the time he was inside Sasuke’s bedroom, he’d already pulled off the hoodie. Sasuke watched him with a slightly amused expression. Then, as he realized he had Naruto’s full attention, he slowly opened his robe and let it fall to the floor.

He was naked underneath.

Naruto drank in the sight of him, from his erect cock to his slender waist and proudly squared shoulders. His body looked strong, powerful, and elegant.

For the first time Naruto lingered on the fact that he was about to sleep with a man. Back in the club it had hardly mattered. He hadn’t been able to see Sasuke’s body like he did now. His only other sexual experience was with women.

Sasuke was very different from a woman, but Naruto found that he didn’t mind at all.

“Are you getting cold feet?” Sasuke said.

Naruto shook his head. “No. Definitely not.”

Sasuke’s gaze dropped to Naruto’s pants. “Then why are you still dressed?”

Naruto fumbled with his belt. Sasuke just watched him calmly.

Finally, Naruto managed to rid himself of the last of his clothes. The two of them stood there, naked, watching each other. Sasuke’s gaze traveled slowly down along Naruto’s chest, across abs that Naruto honestly was very proud of, until it lingered on Naruto’s cock. Sasuke’s eyelids lowered as he watched Naruto with unconcealed desire.

He lifted a hand. “Come here.”

Naruto was in his arms in the span of a heartbeat.

Then everything happened in a rush. Naruto kissed Sasuke desperately, and Sasuke answered in kind. Sasuke lifted one leg and pressed it to Naruto’s thigh. Naruto grabbed it and hoisted Sasuke up enough to slide his cock into him.

Sasuke broke off the kiss with a gasp as he sank down fully on Naruto’s cock.

“Fuuuck,” Naruto growled. He clasped Sasuke’s shoulders and thigh tightly. Their position was difficult and strenuous, but it was so good to be inside him and Naruto couldn’t collect himself enough to bring them to the bed.

Instead he sank to his knees.

Sasuke followed his movement smoothly. He started rocking his hips the moment his knees found purchase on the floor. All Naruto could do was to hold onto him. Sasuke’s breaths were loud in Naruto’s ear, his arms tight around his neck, his body hot and tight and wet around his cock.

Naruto pressed one hand to Sasuke’s ass and leant on the other as he stretched out his legs. He cradled Sasuke in his lap and let him take him quickly to his completion.

Sasuke pressed down hard as he felt Naruto come. He moaned into Naruto’s ear. His breath was scorching hot against Naruto’s neck.

Naruto’s scent glands throbbed in time with his cock. Sasuke was tight around his knot, his vagina still fluttering from his orgasm. They remained very still for a long moment.

“Bed,” Naruto said at last. He was getting cold and the floor was hard.

Sasuke groaned softly when Naruto moved. His arms were tightly clutched around Naruto’s neck and when Naruto laboriously got to his feet, cradling Sasuke in his arms, Sasuke’s thighs clutched tight around his waist.

Naruto managed to get them both safely onto the bed, where he collapsed onto his back. Sasuke was pressed flush against him, breathing calmly.

“That was strenuous,” Naruto said when he got his breath back. “This is why male omega’s are normally smaller.”

“Hm,” Sasuke murmured. “I had no idea.” He placed a hand on Naruto’s left pectoral. “Aren’t these worth anything?”

Then he placed his lips where his hand had been, and Naruto reflexively thrust his hips upward.

Sasuke gasped.

They lapsed into comfortable silence. Naruto grabbed some blankets and pulled them over them both.

“This is a lot more cozy than the first time we met,” Naruto said with a chuckle.

Sasuke groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Sasuke was moving his hips in almost imperceptible little rolls. His breathing was slowly getting heavier. Naruto felt something powerful slowly build up in him with the steady movements.

“Do you really regret it that much?” he said softly.

Sasuke didn’t answer at first. It seemed like he wasn’t about to, but then he sighed. “I don’t regret it,” he said. He placed his palms on Naruto’s chest and looked down at him from above. He moved his hips in slow, steady circles.

Naruto felt desire pool like molten fire in his stomach.

Sasuke’s intense, dark eyes held him captive.

“It wasn’t our fault,” Sasuke said. “Neither of us could have stopped it.”

He started rocking his hips faster. Naruto had trouble catching his breath. He arched up, trying to thrust up as Sasuke pushed down. Sasuke’s eyelids fluttered shut for a short moment.

Naruto clutched his hips, pushing him down as he thrust up. He felt Sasuke clench and pulse around his cock. His back arched as he came, eyes closed, lips parted.

Naruto kept thrusting desperately, his eyes fixed to Sasuke’s face. He called out as he finally came, back arching, the back of his head pressed against the mattress.

As he started coming down, he felt Sasuke’s warm breath on his throat, and then, soft as a caress, he bit down on his scent glands.

\------

Naruto had no recollection of falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was Sasuke’s teeth pressing hard down on the soft tissue of his scent glands, and then his world erupted into sweet fuzziness.

As he woke up, he was instantly aware of Sasuke next to him. Even before Naruto opened his eyes, he was reaching out for him, knowing exactly where he could find him.

Sasuke was sleeping fitfully, rocking his hips and rubbing his thighs together.

Naruto reached down between Sasuke’s legs and stroked his cock before he reached lower. Sasuke rolled over onto his back so that Naruto’s hand could reach his warm core. Naruto flattened his hand so he could feel Sasuke’s warm, wet skin against his palm.

He looked up and met Sasuke’s eyes.

“I…” Naruto said. “I haven’t slept with a male omega before.”

Sasuke languidly rocked his hips. “I know. You told me the first time.”

“Yeah… But… I didn’t know that you…” he removed his hand and leant over Sasuke so that he could look between his legs.

Sasuke cocked one eyebrow. “That I had a vagina?”

“No, I knew that. I just didn’t know that you looked this way.”

Sasuke hesitated for a moment before saying, “And is it a bad thing?”

Naruto met his eyes. He shook his head. “No, definitely not. I like it.”

It hadn’t been apparent how apprehensive Sasuke was until now, when the tenseness left his shoulders and he sank back against the pillow.

Naruto grabbed the back of Sasuke’s knees and nudged his legs further apart. Sasuke spread his legs willingly.

Naruto just watched. Sasuke looked like a combination of a man and a woman, but it was a beautiful combination. His cock and balls weren’t abnormally small, as rumors about male omega’s would have one think, but they were unusually, for lack of a better word, pretty. His balls were on the small side and located closer to the body. From right behind the balls and back between Sasuke’s legs there was a small, pink slit. Naruto pressed his fingers to it and it parted around them, allowing him into the soft, slippery heat inside.

The natural lubrication leaked out when Naruto pushed his fingers in. He had used two fingers, and they slid in easily. Naruto let them sink in till they couldn’t go further. Sasuke rocked his hips sharply, his breathing becoming heavier.

“Don’t tease me,” he murmured. “Your fingers don’t help.”

“Sorry,” Naruto said and pulled out.

This time he was coherent enough to remember the condoms Kiba had given him. He wished he had remembered them earlier too, because now there was an even bigger chance that Sasuke would get pregnant.

He reached over for his pants and pulled one condom out.

“What’s that?” Sasuke said sharply.

Naruto looked over at him, wondering if he’d seriously never seen a condom before. “I just-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Sasuke slapped the condom out of his hand so hard that it flew onto the floor.

Naruto just stared at him. “What did you do that for?”

“You’re not using that.”

“Um… yes, I am.”

Sasuke tried to scoot down and grab Naruto’s dick, but Naruto grabbed his wrists.

“What are you doing?” Naruto said, incredulous.

Sasuke tried to free his hands but Naruto refused to let him go. “I want you to come inside me,” Sasuke said.

“You know I can’t.”

Sasuke undulated his body in an attempt to free himself. The head of Naruto’s dick rubbed against his warm thigh. Even that little attention to his dick was making him dizzy.

He forced Sasuke’s hands over his head and held him down against the mattress.

“You’re gonna regret it if we don’t use protection,” Naruto panted, “and if you regret it, you’re gonna make me regret it too.”

“What’s the point in using it now,” Sasuke said. “We’ve already fucked!”

“If by some miracle you aren’t pregnant already, then it’d be really damn stupid to keep fucking without a condom!”

Sasuke made a last attempt to break free, at the same time pushing up against Naruto and squeezing his dick between their stomachs. Naruto groaned.

Then Sasuke suddenly stopped struggling.

He was breathing heavily, but so was Naruto.

“It won’t be the same,” Sasuke said. “What if we can’t bond…”

“Of course we can,” Naruto said, though he honestly wasn’t sure. “I mean… Why shouldn’t we be able to?”

Sasuke lifted his head and kissed Naruto. His lips softly dragged over Naruto’s, then to his jaw. He nuzzled Naruto’s cheek.

“Let’s do it without the condom this time,” he said. “One more time won’t matter… Just until you have marked me.”

Naruto was tempted to give in. Did one more time really matter that much? They’d done it twice without protection already…

Sasuke was trailing hot, eager kisses down the column of Naruto’s neck to his collarbone, and then up his throat to his scent glands.

They were still tender from earlier, and when Sasuke’s lips touched them, it was like a jolt of lightning went through Naruto. He moaned through clenched teeth.

“Okay,” he said. “We won’t use a condom. But then you have no right to be mad at me if you get pregnant.”

Sasuke pulled away and met Naruto’s eyes. “I’m sorry about being so rude to you when we met at work.”

Naruto hadn’t expected Sasuke to bring that up now. “It’s okay.”

“I was mostly angry at myself,” Sasuke continued. “Angry about how I reacted to you… How you made me act.”

He continued mouthing Naruto’s scent glands as he spoke.

Naruto panted into his neck. His hips moved on their own accord, thrusting feebly in search for Sasuke’s warm body. Sasuke moved into position, his hand guiding Naruto’s cock into him.

Naruto sank in deeply, fitting easily inside of Sasuke’s willing body.

Sasuke sighed.

He wrapped his arms around Naruto’s shoulders as Naruto started thrusting. Naruto was gentle at first, as much for his own sake as for Sasuke’s. Sasuke was basically wrapped around him, rolling his hips up to meet each of Naruto’s thrusts.

“So you’re not angry with me?” Naruto panted against Sasuke’s sweaty neck. He deliberately slowed down. He wanted an answer.

Sasuke made a disgruntled noise. “No, but I’m about to be if you don’t  _ move _ .”

Naruto thrust sharply up into him. Sasuke gasped. He curled his fingers against Naruto’s scalp.

“Like that?” Naruto said.

Sasuke just moaned his appreciation.

“Harder?” Naruto said and nipped teasingly on Sasuke’s bottom lip.

“Yes,” he moaned.

“Are you sure?”

Sasuke tugged hard on Naruto’s hair. “Yes, I’m fucking sure.”

Naruto chuckled. “Okay then.”

He thrust deep into Sasuke, slowly at first, making sure he felt every inch of him, then harder. Sasuke clawed at Naruto’s back, making soft breathy sounds. Naruto thrust faster, reveling in the way Sasuke clung to him, desperately mouthing at every part of exposed skin he could find, from his shoulder to his neck.

Naruto slowed down a bit, to Sasuke’s protests, and fucked him slowly, almost painfully so, until Sasuke was nearly begging him to go faster. Naruto waited until Sasuke was on the brink before he finally obliged him. He thrust wildly, not caring about holding back anymore. He felt Sasuke clench around his cock, heard him draw in a shaky breath as he came, before he followed right after.

He held himself up over Sasuke, panting heavily, pushing himself deep into Sasuke as his knot formed.

Sasuke was still sensitive and made an overwhelmed sound, but he didn’t try to move away. Soon they both calmed down a bit and Naruto gently moved them both so they could lie on their sides. Sasuke had one leg thrown over Naruto’s waist, and the other wedged between Naruto and the mattress. His eyes were closed.

Naruto watched his restful face, etching each detail into his memory.

He wasn’t sure how long they had been lying there when Sasuke stirred.

“I’d forgotten you were Mr. World Record,” he murmured.

Naruto wondered what he was rambling about for a moment until he remembered their conversation in the club.

“I aim to please,” he said. “Though the way I remember it, you didn’t like it the last time.”

The corner of Sasuke’s mouth twitched. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. “That was before.”

“Hm…” Naruto ran the tips of his fingers down Sasuke’s shoulder, across his ribs and down to his waist. “So you’re enjoying it now?”

Now there was almost a full-blown smile on Sasuke’s face. “Yes. I’m enjoying it very much.”

Naruto continued caressing Sasuke, his fingertips sliding over his hips, down to his ass, gently feathering across his inner thigh until he reached the backside of his knee.

Sasuke sighed. “I’ve lost all feeling in my right leg, though,” he said.

Naruto rolled them over so that he was on top of Sasuke again, and started rocking his hips slowly. He didn’t have much room for movement, but that didn’t matter. Just the smallest movement was enough to send electric pulses shivering down his spine.

He watched Sasuke’s face while he moved. He looked completely relaxed. His lips were parted and he watched Naruto from underneath half-closed eyelids. His eyes sparkled with unknown depth, like water reflecting the starry sky at night.

Even now Sasuke managed a smirk. “What is it?” he breathed. “You look like you just had… hah… a thought.”

Naruto rolled his hips sharply, making Sasuke gasp.

“I was just amazed how someone so cold,” he punctuated his words with another sharp thrust, “can look so… warm.”

Sasuke chuckled hoarsely. “I think the word you’re looking for is hot.”

Naruto kissed him.

Sasuke moaned and buried his hands in Naruto’s wild hair.

Naruto was so close… He broke the kiss to breathe. Sasuke’s scent filled his nostrils, his mouth, his whole head. He pushed in as deep as he could just as he bent his head down to nuzzle Sasuke’s scent-glands. Sasuke threw his head back, crying out as he came. His inner walls clenched around Naruto’s cock, milking him of his orgasm.

Naruto was vaguely aware that he cried out too, his voice hoarse and barely recognizable. Then his teeth found purchase on Sasuke’s throat and he bit down, hard. It was even more powerful than when Sasuke had bitten him. His whole body was filled with Sasuke’s scent, with his presence, with his being.

In that moment, he could feel Sasuke’s heartbeat as clear as his own, could feel the blood pulse through his veins and the last dregs of his orgasm still coursing through his body.

In that moment, they were one.

\-----

When Naruto came to, the first thing he saw was Sasuke lying completely still next to him with his head thrown back and a huge purple bruise on his neck. Naruto panicked, thinking he’d been too rough and had hurt Sasuke.

He leant over Sasuke and said his name, but Sasuke was unresponsive. He was breathing deeply so he must be asleep. Naruto let out a relieved breath. He ran his fingertips lightly over the blemished skin on Sasuke’s neck, and a moan escaped Sasuke.

Naruto leant down and kissed the bruises in silent apology. Sasuke sighed and lifted one arm, his hand cradling the back of Naruto’s head.

“Are you feeling okay?” Naruto asked.

A soft smile graced Sasuke’s face. “Yeah. More than okay.”

Naruto grinned. “Me too.” He pressed another kiss to Sasuke’s neck. “This isn’t hurting?”

“Not at all.”

“You have a huge bruise here.”

Sasuke caressed Naruto’s throat. “So have you.”

Naruto touched his neck. It didn’t feel tender at all. He kissed Sasuke’s lips.

“Are you satisfied?”

Sasuke gave him a languid smile. “For now.”

They curled up close together and went to sleep.


	7. Haze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter won't disappoint you too much, but these two* still have some shit to figure out...

Sasuke knew, even before he was fully awake, that he was desperately horny. One would think it was something he’d get used to, after having been through countless heats. But this was something else. This was an explosive amount of horniness. This was grab-the-nearest-man levels of horniness.

Luckily for him, the nearest man was conveniently at hand.

Sasuke was only half-aware of where he was, or even who he was, but he knew without a sliver of doubt that next to him was an alpha, and not just any alpha. An alpha that belonged to him, body, soul and mind.

He could tell that Naruto was awake and that he was waiting for him, even before he had opened his eyes.

Somehow, Sasuke had gotten entangled in a bunch of sheets and blankets while he slept, and now he had to find a way out of the pile. Naruto clumsily tried to help him, but he was more a nuisance than help. Somehow, he found his way in between Sasuke’s legs, though, and into his body.

He sought out Sasuke’s mouth as well, kissing him sloppily as Naruto pushed his cock deep inside of Sasuke.

Sasuke clutched him tight. He was so wet already, even though he’d just woken up, and Naruto slid inside of him easily, his thick shaft stretching Sasuke open.

Naruto was panting heavily, making wet little noises. His hands fumbled, clutching Sasuke’s waist one moment, then moving to his thigh, holding it up, then down to his ass, pushing him closer, then fluttering across his chest, caressing his neck, his cheek.

There was something so desperately fragile about him in that moment. Sasuke just drank it all in, reveling in the shaky gentleness of his hands.

His cock was being stimulated by Naruto’s stomach rubbing against it with each deep thrust. Naruto held himself tight against Sasuke’s body, thrusting up into him like he couldn’t get close enough, like he longed to completely be part of him.

It was too much for Sasuke. His orgasm came like a slow but unrelenting wave, his head thrown back and his breath coming in shivery gasps.

Naruto kept thrusting into him even after he came, but Sasuke’s body was soft and pliant and he felt no discomfort, despite the fact that he normally hated it when his partner continued after he was done.

Naruto had closed his eyes, his thrusts becoming jerky and quick. His mouth opened and he moaned as he came, pushing hard into Sasuke. His eyelids fluttered. Then he stilled and Sasuke held his breath in anticipation as Naruto’s knot formed.

It settled hot and heavy against the sensitive entrance of his vagina.

Sasuke took a calming breath and adjusted his hips, making Naruto slip a little deeper inside. He wasn’t ready to come again just yet. He needed a small breather.

Naruto pressed his face to Sasuke’s neck, breathing in his scent.

“You smell so good,” he murmured drowsily.

“You too,” Sasuke muttered after a moment of hesitation, pressing his nose against Naruto’s hair.

Naruto was lying on top of him but he wasn’t putting his full weight on him. He leant on his elbows, his head bent and his lips pressing to Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke thought he felt something drip onto his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Naruto cleared his throat and added. “I’m just a bit overwhelmed I guess.” He chuckled weakly. “I don’t normally cry during sex…”

Sasuke didn’t know what to say.

“… It’s probably because of the bond,” Naruto added. “Everything feels so much more intense.”

“…Yeah.”

Sasuke wondered if something was wrong with him, because the bond didn’t seem to impact him that much. Then again, Naruto seemed like a very emotional person. It was just unusual for an alpha to be willing to show it so openly.

It felt nice to be close to Naruto after the most pressing need had cooled down. Normally he preferred alpha’s that didn’t last too long because he hated that awkward stage where they were inevitably tied together.

But with Naruto it was different… After a while, their breaths synced, and as they slowly started reaching a new orgasm, their breathing accelerated at the same pace. Sasuke had never felt so as one with anyone before. He moved in perfect sync with Naruto. The entire time they kept eye contact, barely blinking.

They came at the exact same moment. Sasuke saw Naruto’s brow pinch just as he felt his own orgasm wash over him. He clutched Naruto’s shoulders so tightly that he was a little worried he’d left marks.

Naruto groaned wetly next to Sasuke’s ear and mouthed Sasuke’s scent glands.

Sasuke felt a deep calmness come over him. His limbs became heavy and light at the same time, his chest soared. Naruto slumped down next to him, still panting heavily.

They lay there in companionable silence for a long moment, both too sated to move even a finger.

Eventually they went back to sleep.

\-----

When Sasuke woke up again, it was morning. He had no idea what day it was. He felt so wonderfully fucked out that he could barely walk. It had been too long since the last time. It was a struggle to get out of bed and into the shower, but the warm water did wonders to his exhausted body.

It felt wonderful to rinse off all manners of bodily fluids off his skin, but he felt strangely restless without any definite reason. It took a moment before he realized that he could sense Naruto, as though he had gained some sixth sense that could seek out the very essence of another person. He could feel his presence and sense his warmth and his general emotional state.

Naruto was awake, he knew it as surely as he knew that fact about himself. He felt his desire too. It was a slow, tingling feeling that rose in Sasuke as well. Sasuke felt the immediate and strange need to be close to him. He finished his shower and dried off quickly before putting on a robe.

He found Naruto in the kitchen.

He was looking through the fridge, but turned around and gave Sasuke a soft smile.

“I’m kinda hungry. What about you?”

Sasuke could feel Naruto’s desire, so why was he talking about food? Or was the desire only Sasuke’s? Had he been mistaken?

Sasuke walked past Naruto, towards the coffeemaker.

“I’m not that hungry,” he said. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. He couldn’t think of food or coffee or anything as long as Naruto stood there in only his boxers.

For a moment, Naruto hesitated. But then he came towards Sasuke. He stood behind him and Sasuke felt a thrill run down his spine at his proximity. Without giving his body permission, he pushed back against Naruto, and Naruto’s hips jerked forward, pushing his half-hard cock against Sasuke’s ass. Sasuke gasped.

“Are you sure?” Naruto said teasingly, his voice husky.

Sasuke couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about. He pushed back against Naruto again, impatiently.

Naruto groaned softly against the back of Sasuke’s neck. Then he tugged on Sasuke’s robe, pulling it up.

Sasuke was already feeling a certain weakness in his legs, and when Naruto’s fingers brushed his thigh and moved up to press against his wet pussy, he had to clutch the edge of the counter.

Naruto nipped at Sasuke’s neck, at the same time teasingly ghosting his fingers across Sasuke’s engorged flesh, flitting them lightly over the base of his cock, and then withdrawing completely.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, ready with a sharp remark, but Naruto just grabbed his hips and turned him around. And then he, without any warning, hoisted him up onto the counter and pulled them close, easing himself in between Sasuke’s spread legs. He left it to Sasuke to grab his cock and steady it as he held Sasuke’s thighs, moving him closer until the head of his cock was pressing against Sasuke’s pussy.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s shoulder with his free hand and leant backwards to make penetration easier. Naruto rocked Sasuke’s hips with his hands, easing slowly inside, inch by sweet inch, until he couldn’t come deeper.

Sasuke’s breathing got heavier for each languid thrust. He instinctively rocked his hips and Naruto hung onto each small movement, matching them with his own.

He tried to hold Sasuke’s gaze, but Sasuke couldn’t meet those transparent blue eyes filled with deep affection. He looked away, focused instead on Naruto’s lips or the sight of his cock sliding in and out of him. That was certainly a sight. He clutched Naruto’s shoulders with both hands.

His ass was barely hanging onto the edge of the counter now, but he trusted Naruto to support him.

He felt his heavy breath against his cheek. Naruto started thrusting harder, faster. Each thrust made something clench sweetly in Sasuke’s stomach. He leant back until he was lying back on the counter. Naruto supported his ass, thrusting wildly.

Sasuke touched his own cock. He was so close…

Naruto bent over Sasuke and groaned hoarsely.

“I’m…” he gasped, and then he thrust hard into Sasuke as he came.

Sasuke moaned as he felt Naruto’s cum flood him. He clenched around Naruto’s cock as he came too. Naruto stayed inside of him, his knot settling against Sasuke’s entrance. He shoved in deeper in order to keep his knot completely inside of Sasuke, and Sasuke gasped. The heavy feeling of it inside of him was suddenly too much. He pulled Naruto down so that their chests touched and pressed his face against his sweaty neck.

Naruto encircled him in his arms and held him close. His breath came in shivery puffs against Sasuke’s shoulder. 

Sasuke clamped his thighs around Naruto’s hips in a desperate attempt to press him closer. He moaned softly into Naruto’s ear when he moved a tiny fraction.

Naruto groaned. “Fuck… Y-you keep clenching…”

His breathing accelerated. He ground his hips down, pressing his cock deeper into Sasuke. Sasuke could feel him, all of him, pushing against places inside of him that sent shivers through him.

“I-I’m…” Sasuke breathed. “Keep… ah… Keep moving…”

Naruto’s knot was pressing heavily against the walls of his pussy, and with each, small thrust, desire coiled tighter and tighter in his stomach.

“I-I’m close,” he gasped. “I… ah… N-Naruto…”

He threw his head back with a wet groan as Naruto thrust hard into him and stilled. He felt Naruto come again, felt his cock pulse and his cum spurt into him. He heard Naruto gasp, half-formed words falling from his lips. Sasuke thought he heard a garbled version of his own name.

He closed his eyes and relaxed back against the cold, hard counter. He felt so blissed out that he hardly cared.

It took a few moments before Naruto pulled out of him with a lewd, wet sound. Sasuke felt something run down his inner thigh. He wasn’t sure if it was cum or slick or both.

Naruto rested his cheek on Sasuke’s chest and Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair.

They stayed like that for a little longer, until Sasuke couldn’t ignore how uncomfortably he was lying anymore. Naruto straightened up when Sasuke nudged him. But then he did something Sasuke hadn’t expected. When Sasuke sat up, he took his face between his hands and kissed him so tenderly that Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat.

It felt more intimate than the sex they’d just had, and Sasuke wasn’t prepared for it. He turned away and slid off the counter.

“I need to shower again,” he said without looking at Naruto, and left him.

He stood in the shower without moving for a long time. The hot water beating down on him was soothing, but not enough to ease his mind.

The heat was leaving his system, and in its wake came confusion. Sasuke tried hard to remember everything that had happened since Friday… He’d slept for the entire weekend. Itachi had been so concerned that he had used the spare key to let himself into Sasuke’s apartment… and then… fuck. Itachi had taken that soulmate myth seriously and had brought Naruto to him.

Sasuke had completed the bond with Naruto… He touched his scent glands. They tingled pleasantly. Although the weekend was hazy, he remembered every small detail of what happened between the two of them. His brain was funny that way. It wouldn’t operate properly when he needed it, but it kept a neat log of everything that went on while it was MIA.

Everything had been perfect up until that last kiss… The way Naruto had looked at him… Sasuke had never been with anyone who looked at him with such open honesty before. It scared him.

But what scared him more was the certainty that he was pregnant. His heat had ended too suddenly, which must mean it had fulfilled its purpose and he’d gotten pregnant.

His hands clutched around his stomach.

He felt dizzy all of a sudden. Why was this happening to him? Everything in his life had been going so well until now…

The worst part was that it was his own fault. He was the one who had refused to use a condom. Naruto had tried really hard to convince him otherwise, but no, in that moment Sasuke proved that he was and always would be an omega first.

He tried to take deep breaths.

It would be okay, he told himself. He could terminate the pregnancy if he wanted to. He wouldn’t have to risk losing his job. He wouldn’t have to prove to everyone once and for all that even an omega like him, with high ambitions and an iron-will, would inevitably do what every omega was expected to do; settle down with an alpha and have kids.

He leant his forehead against the cold shower tiles.

He wouldn’t let himself be derailed by some crazy good sex and a pair of big, blue eyes.

The bond would eventually fade if they kept their distance, and it was probably better that way. Sasuke had never been good at relationships. Naruto would be better off forgetting about him.

There was a light knock on the bathroom door. Sasuke jumped.

“Are you okay?” Naruto’s muted voice came from outside. “You’ve been in there for half an hour…”

Sasuke turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. “I’m fine,” he said flatly.

Naruto was silent for a long moment, though Sasuke knew he was still there. Then he said, “You promised you wouldn’t be mad at me…”

“I’m not mad at you,” Sasuke snapped. He dried off his hair with another towel. “I’m just mad in general. At everything.”

He leant against the sink and waited for Naruto’s reply. Instead he heard him leave. Sasuke sighed. He styled his hair before he left the bathroom to get dressed.

He found Naruto in the living room. He was sitting on the couch, wearing slacks and a rumpled shirt half buttoned up. Sasuke realized Naruto must have come straight from work… was it yesterday?

He checked the time. “What day is it?”

“Tuesday,” Naruto said.

“… Shouldn’t you be at work now?”

Naruto shrugged. “My boss told me to go see a doctor yesterday… I don’t think she expects me back so soon.”

Sasuke sat down on the couch, as far away from Naruto as he could. “Were you sick too?”

Naruto nodded. “I fainted at work. Twice.” He blushed. “Once in front of your brother.”

“I barely remember anything from the last few days before you arrived,” Sasuke said. “Itachi must have been extremely desperate when he brought you here.”

Naruto looked down at his clenched hands. “Do you regret it?”

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. But then he shook his head.

“No. It was… nice.”

Naruto gave him a crooked grin, a strained shadow of his usual bright smile. “Just nice?”

Sasuke huffed. “It was pretty good, I guess. But that doesn’t mean we’re… whatever.”

Naruto froze. For a moment he was quiet, but then he shrugged a bit stiffly. “Of course not. It was just sex.”

Sasuke was surprised he didn’t put up more of a fight. He relaxed a little. They were all good, then.

“So,” Naruto said. “Are you okay now?”

Sasuke nodded. “You?”

“Yeah.”

Naruto’s phone buzzed. He checked the message.

For some incomprehensible reason, Sasuke felt a jolt of something sharp and rueful. He realized he didn’t know Naruto at all. He could have a boyfriend for all he knew. Or a girlfriend.

As if Naruto noticed his mood, he said, “It was just my friend asking if I had a good time.”

Sasuke snorted. “Was that their exact words?”

“Er… No. His exact word were ‘did you get your brains fucked out?’”

Sasuke chuckled. “And did you?”

“Fuck, yeah.” Naruto smiled, and this time it was his soft, happy, genuine smile.

Sasuke basked in it.

But then it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“I should get going, then,” Naruto said and stood. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

As Sasuke followed him to the door, he tried to find a way to say that he really had enjoyed whatever they had together, but that he couldn’t pursue it for so many, complicated reasons. But the words just wouldn’t come to him.

Naruto didn’t say anything either. He put on his shoes and his jacket and turned towards Sasuke for one last farewell. They looked at each other for a long moment, neither knowing what to say.

“Take care,” Sasuke said at last, a little awkwardly.

Naruto gave him a sad smile. “Bye.”

\-----

Naruto made it to the train station before he broke down. Leaving Sasuke had been the most painful thing he had ever done, even worse than the two other times he'd been rejected by him. It was like tearing out a vital piece of himself and leaving it forever. He ignored the old man who glanced at him with worry where he sat crying alone on a bench.

He didn’t feel like getting on a cramped train when he was like this, so in the end he called Kiba.

“’Sup,” Kiba said.

“Hey…” Naruto’s voice was scratchy. He cleared his throat. “Could you come and get me?”

“Yeah, sure,” Kiba said. He sounded worried. “Where are you?”

Naruto gave him the name of the train station and twenty minutes later he showed up. Naruto got into the passenger seat and they drove off.

“What happened?” Kiba said. “You sounded okay when you messaged me.”

Naruto leant his forehead on the cool windowpane. “We bonded.”

“That’s good, right?” Kiba said, sounding uncertain.

“Not when the guy I’m bonded to doesn’t want me.” His voice shook slightly.

“Shit…” Kiba said softly. “That… that sucks.”

“To top it off, we didn’t use a condom.”

“Fuck. He didn’t want to, huh?”

Naruto looked up from his slumped position. “How did you know?”

“It’s an omega thing. Sometimes, when their heat is really bad, they’ll refuse using protection because, well… Omega’s are not like beta women who can get pregnant whenever. The heat is exclusively for the purpose of getting pregnant. So if you use protection, the heat will pass more slowly.”

Naruto mulled that over. “His was over in a day…”

Kiba didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. The implications were clear. Naruto would be surprised if Sasuke weren’t pregnant after… He forced himself not to think about it. It hurt too much.

“Maybe he’ll come around,” Kiba said after a while.

Naruto didn’t want to think about Sasuke anymore. “Can I come over to your place?” he said.

He dreaded going back to his own place to be alone with his thoughts and his longing.

Kiba smiled. “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I of course meant 'Sasuke still has some shit to figure out' x)
> 
> Buckle up for some more hurt because next chapter is gonna be tough (it was definitely tough to write). But I promise, all will be good in the end!


	8. Crumbling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Sexual assault (not rape)

On their way back to Kiba’s place, they bought ramen to go.

“Did you get off work early today?” Naruto said when they were sitting in Kiba’s living room, eating.

Kiba shrugged. “I kinda just left when you called me. Told Tsunade it was an emergency.”

“Shit…” Naruto hadn’t thought about what time it was when he called Kiba. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called…”

“It’s okay! It  _ was _ an emergency.”

They played video games until dinnertime, then they ordered in again, and watched a movie till Kiba had to go to bed. Naruto was exhausted enough to fall asleep quickly, but he woke up before the sun had risen and couldn’t go back to sleep. His whole body felt heavy, like he’d been lowered down into solid matter.

He kept replaying the conversation he’d had with Sasuke before he left. He had said that the sex didn’t mean anything and Naruto had readily agreed. Now he wondered if maybe he should have put up more of a fight. He couldn’t force Sasuke to want him, but he had perhaps not made his own feelings clear enough. Maybe Sasuke thought he didn’t want him either?

When Kiba finally started getting ready for work, Naruto stirred too.

“You don’t have to go to work today,” Kiba said when he saw Naruto sitting upright on the couch. “Tsunade isn’t expecting you back yet.”

“I have to go,” Naruto said.

Kiba looked like he was about to protest, but then he sighed and let it be.

“You can borrow one of my shirts,” he said after taking a look at Naruto’s rumpled, stained shirt.

Naruto nodded. “Thanks.”

They got ready and went to work in silence. Kiba tried for some small talk, but Naruto was so unresponsive that he quickly stopped.

Naruto set to work immediately when he arrived, and worked until lunchtime without pause. Sakura came over to ask if he wanted to eat lunch with her, but he told her he wasn’t hungry, and she left without asking more questions.

Naruto went to see Tsunade instead of eating.

“Can you do me a favor?” he said.

Tsunade studied him in silence for a long moment. Then she sighed. “What kind of favor?”

“Can you find out what department Sasuke Uchiha works in?”

Tsunade’s eyebrows arched. “Sasuke Uchiha?” She leant back in her chair. “Why are you interested in him?”

“I just am. Do you know who he is?”

“Yes, I do. But I’m not telling you where you can find him until you tell me why you want to know.”

Naruto sighed. “He’s the one who’s affected me all along. I found him yesterday and we bonded.”

“Then why do you need me to tell you where he is?”

“Well… He didn’t seem interested in… keeping in contact.”

“I see…” Tsunade twirled a pencil between her fingers. She was quiet for a long moment. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you where he works,” she said at last. “It’s common knowledge. I’m surprised you didn’t know already. Sasuke Uchiha is the new head of finance.”

Naruto blinked. “Huh? I thought he was my age…”

Tsunade nodded. “He is. I’ve heard he’s quite an ambitious man. Being in his position at such a young age, and as an omega… It’s quite a feat. Especially in the most alpha-dominated department on this building.”

“… Shit,” was all Naruto could say. He sat down in the chair in front of Tsunade’s desk. It was typical with his luck to, when he finally connected with an omega, find that he was the most ambitious and strong-willed omega within miles.

He had hoped that finding Sasuke and talking to him could solve things, but now that suddenly seemed like a less likely outcome. Sasuke lived and breathed for his job, that much was obvious.

“Listen,” Tsunade said. “You won’t obtain anything if you don’t try. If you really like this guy, then you should try to talk to him.”

“But he already rejected me,” Naruto said.

“Did he tell you that directly?”

“Well… Not this time, no…”

“Did he tell you never to talk to him again?”

“…No…”

Now that Naruto thought about it, they had never agreed not to see each other again. Perhaps it had been an underlying understanding that they would eventually gravitate towards each other again come their next heat and rut… That is, if Sasuke wasn’t pregnant…

Naruto remembered what Sasuke had said to him when they met for the second time.

He wouldn’t keep it…

“Naruto?”

Naruto looked up at Tsunade. She was standing in front of him.

“It can be very painful when someone doesn’t acknowledge your bond,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “But sometimes it happens between people who have nothing in common, and sometimes it happens to someone who had other plans… who had someone else…” She paused for a moment, looking almost… sad. “If you’re still willing to try… if you think there’s something there worth salvaging, then don’t give up just yet.”

She took Naruto’s hand and pulled him to his feet.

Naruto stared at her. He wanted to give her a hug. She was almost like a mother to him, but they had never had a habit of openly showing each other affection. Then the moment passed, and she gave him a rough push.

“Now go get something to eat. I don’t want you to faint again.”

\-----

It was barely noon but Sasuke could already feel a headache brewing at the back of his skull. He was too tense, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe it was because Daiki kept sizing him up every time he walked past him or talked to him, or maybe it was because work had piled up in his absence. Or maybe it was because he couldn’t stop thinking about Naruto. Every time he sat down to get some work done, he’d space out. Suddenly he’d be in the middle of a nice memory and realize that he’d been lost in thought for minutes.

He tried to suppress the memories by driving everyone, himself included, to work harder than they’d probably ever worked before. It gave him a certain satisfaction to see Daiki struggling under the constant demands. At least it gave him less time to be a creep.

Sasuke knew he was making himself unpopular this way, but his aim wasn’t to be loved by everyone. The reason he’d been hired was because he was ruthlessly effective, and after the havoc his heat had wrecked for the past week, it was even more crucial that he proved his worth.

He stayed long after everyone else had left, so he was surprised when someone knocked lightly on his door.

“Yes?” he said brusquely, not looking up from his screen.

The door opened but no one spoke. Sasuke was about to look up with a scathing remark about wasting time when the person’s scent hit him. He froze.

“Hi,” Naruto said. “I hope it’s okay that I dropped by… I was on my way home and…”

Sasuke had trouble hearing what the man was saying. He had to clutch the edge of his desk to stop the dizziness. It was unfair that someone’s scent could affect him so strongly. Naruto didn’t seem nearly that affected. But then again, he had known what he was getting into while Sasuke hadn’t gotten as much as a warning.

He stood abruptly and went over to the windows. One of them was ajar and he breathed in the fresh air.

“… Should I leave?” Naruto said.

“No.” Sasuke said before he could stop himself. Fuck. He turned to look at Naruto for the first time since he saw him leave yesterday. He had yearned for him so desperately after he left. He had barely slept that night. But he kept telling himself that if he could get through the worst part, it would get better with time.

It wouldn’t get better if Naruto kept seeking him out, though.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sasuke said.

Naruto bowed his head. “I just wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

“About us…”

“There’s no  _ us _ to talk about.”

A fierce spark lighted in Naruto’s clear eyes. “We  _ bonded _ . You might carry my child! Isn’t that  _ us _ enough for you?”

“All thanks to you!” Sasuke growled. “If you hadn’t marked me that time, we wouldn’t have had to get bonded in the first place.”

All color drained from Naruto’s face. “You said you didn’t regret it.”

“And you said it was ‘just sex’.”

Naruto’s mouth twisted. “I guess we both lied then.”

“I didn’t lie,” Sasuke said. “I don’t regret what happened between us. But that doesn’t mean that I want to pursue it.”

Naruto stared down at his hands. “I want to…” he said, almost too faintly for Sasuke to hear. Then he looked up at Sasuke and the desperation in his eyes made Sasuke’s heart clench.

“I can’t change how I feel,” Naruto bit out. “And I’m pretty sure that you must be feeling the same way…”

“I don’t,” Sasuke said. He had to stop this while he still could. It had to be a clean cut, or else it would be so much harder for them both. “I don’t feel anything for you. I don’t want you. So stop bothering me.”

He could see how each word hit Naruto like a physical blow, and he could swear he felt his pain just as vividly as he saw it. But Sasuke had never bowed down to pain before, and he wouldn’t start doing it now.

Naruto turned slowly away, like it was painful for him to even move. Sasuke remained standing where he was because he knew that if he tried to walk he’d collapse. He stayed rigidly still until the door closed behind Naruto. Only then did he allow himself to collapse against the wall. He pressed his hand to the mark on his throat. It had already turned into a faint scar so that it was almost unnoticeable to others the way a proper bonding mark should be.

His knees gave out under him and he slid to the floor.

Fuck. That had been so hard to do. If it got any worse than this, he wasn’t sure he could take it.

\-----

Naruto left Sasuke’s office in a daze. He was barely aware where his feet were leading him. Sasuke’s words were on repeat in his mind.  _ I don’t feel anything for you. I don’t want you. So stop bothering me. _

How was it possible that a few words could hurt so much? 

He knew he should have listened to his first instinct and let Sasuke be. He felt like an idiot for coming back in a vain hope that somehow, things could be fixed. 

He barged through the open office locale when he suddenly realized that his path was blocked by three alpha’s.

“Hey, who’s this?” one of them said.

Naruto tried to walk past them, but they pushed him back.

“He’s an alpha!” Another of the alpha’s said.

“You’re kidding!”

They laughed, something Naruto wasn’t unused to. He’d always been made fun of by other alpha’s.

“Let me go,” he snarled when one of them grabbed his arm.

“Look at those tiny fangs,” one of the other alpha’s said.

“Fuck off,” Naruto spat.

They chuckled and parted to let him through. “Sure, just run along kitling.”

Naruto glared at them over his shoulder. He had been called that a lot after he presented as an alpha. It was a term for an alpha that was ‘cute’ or small. Naruto had always felt the term was undue on him, as he was as tall as most alpha’s, and he worked out so he wasn’t weak either. But that didn’t matter when he lacked in scent and fangs.

He hurried away from them.

\-----

Sasuke wasn’t sure how long he remained on the floor. Eventually he got back on his feet. He wouldn’t get more work done that day so he turned off the computer and put on his suit jacket.

He went to the lunchroom to refill his water bottle. The locale had seemed empty, so Sasuke was a little surprised when he heard someone approach the lunchroom. He didn’t think much of it, though. Not until he saw Daiki standing in the doorway.

He froze.

“You’re still here,” he said, unable to keep the dislike out of his voice.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Daiki said with a sardonic smile. “I’m staying late just to finish all the work you’ve been giving us.”

“It’s your own fault,” Sasuke said. “You’re working too slowly.”

He walked forward and tried to push past Daiki, but the man caught Sasuke by the waist and pressed him close. Sasuke stumbled into his chest. For a moment he was too shocked to do anything. He just stared up at Daiki and felt with every fiber of his being how much he hated him.

The moment didn’t last long before he pushed away, but the alpha held onto him. He pulled Sasuke back and turned them around so that Sasuke was slammed against the wall inside the lunchroom.

Sasuke stared incredulously at the man. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He pushed him away before he could answer, but Daiki grabbed his arm and pulled him back when he tried to escape. He slammed Sasuke up against the wall, boxing him in with his arms on each side of Sasuke’s shoulders.

“Don’t ever talk to me like that again,” Daiki sneered.

Sasuke was, despite normally not being easily intimidated, feeling a tinge of fear creep in. Daiki was strong, he’d gathered that much, and apparently he was not above threatening his boss.

“Are we clear?” Daiki growled.

Sasuke’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “I’ll talk to you however I like.”

Daiki slammed him against the wall again. “What a fucking cunt you are.” His stale breath was clogging. “You come here and think you can do whatever you want, but no matter how much you pretend you’ll never be more than a filthy little slut.”

Suddenly his hand was between Sasuke’s legs, his fingers pressing hard up against Sasuke’s soft sex.

Sasuke recoiled, but he had nowhere to go.

“Let go of me,” he hissed.

“Or else?” Daiki said, grinning coldly. The heel of his palm pressed painfully into Sasuke’s cock. Daiki moved his hand up to cup him. He snorted. “You’re not as small as I’d thought.”

Sasuke shivered.

Daiki was suddenly staring at him in a way that made Sasuke’s skin crawl. He started massaging Sasuke’s cock. Sasuke tensed all over. He breathed through his nose, horrified that his body was reacting to the touch.

“You must be good at it,” Daiki said. “That’s how you got this job, right? Why else would they hire an omega?”

Sasuke stared at Daiki. He really meant it in all seriousness. He actually believed that an omega would never get a job in such a position if they didn’t fuck their way to it.

Sasuke hit Daiki’s chest and managed to make him take a step backwards.

“I worked really hard to get to where I am today,” Sasuke growled. “I had to work ten times as hard as you ever had to, and even then I was never taken seriously. I was offered a simpler way, but no, I didn’t take it. The fact that I’m here today is due to my own hard work.”

Daiki pressed him up against the wall again. “Touching story. It almost sounds like you believe it yourself.”

Sasuke wanted to hit him in the face. He wanted to crush his nose, his jaw, his disgusting smirk. He clenched his right hand tight. Then they heard some voices come from the office. Daiki looked up, distracted, and Sasuke drew his hand back and punched him. Daiki stumbled. Sasuke charged at him again, but the alpha dodged the hit and grabbed Sasuke’s arm. It was obvious he was used to being in a fight. He moved quickly and surely and before Sasuke had time to do anything, he kneed him in the stomach so hard that Sasuke doubled over.

_ No _ , Sasuke thought through the fog of pain,  _ not the baby _ .

He kneeled on the floor, trying to catch his breath. He knew he needed to move before Daiki was over him again, but his body wouldn’t listen.

“What the fuck -!” He suddenly heard someone growl from the doorway. He could barely recognize the voice. It was so different from its usually more cheerful tone. But when he glanced up at the doorway, it was really Naruto who stood there. His normally so gentle eyes looked like shards of ice when he looked at Daiki.

He charged so quickly that Daiki didn’t have time to do anything. The punch hit him clean in the face and he stumbled backwards. But Naruto didn’t stop at that. He punched Daiki again and again until he was lying on the floor, unmoving.

Sasuke gathered his protesting body and managed to get to his feet. He grabbed the back of Naruto’s shirt.

“Stop,” he ground out. “You’re gonna kill him!” He grabbed Naruto’s arm and tried to pull him away from Daiki. “There are security cameras in here!” 

Finally, Naruto listened. He got up and backed away from Daiki’s unconscious body on the floor. He looked like he couldn’t believe what he had just done.

Sasuke sank down on the floor, clutching his stomach. He felt nauseous with the pain. It hurt so much… He just hoped the baby had made it. It wasn’t more than a few days old. Maybe it didn’t even exist. Still, Sasuke felt inexplicably terrified of losing it.

Naruto kneeled down next to Sasuke. “Are you okay?”

“I think I’m pregnant,” Sasuke blurted out. “Or… I was…”

Naruto looked shocked.

“I-I can’t lose it,” Sasuke whispered.

“…I thought that was what you wanted,” Naruto said gently.

Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t know anymore…” His hands were shaking. “C-can you get me out of here…?”

Naruto helped him to his feet and supported him out of the room. Once they were in the open office landscape, Naruto took out his phone.

“I need to call an ambulance,” he said. “I’m not sure how much damage I did.”

Naruto extracted himself from Sasuke, but Sasuke held on.

“Don’t let go of me,” he said.

Naruto put one arm around Sasuke and pressed his phone to his ear with his free hand. He didn’t let go of Sasuke even once while they waited for the ambulance to arrive and then gave their statements. They were brought downstairs and wrapped in blankets. Everything passed in a blur for Sasuke. All he knew was that as long as Naruto was close, he’d be okay.

His scent was like a calming anchor. He was vaguely aware that Itachi had arrived at some point, and then someone must have given him something calming because after a while, everything went blank.


	9. Softness

Sasuke woke up in Itachi’s guestroom. It was still dark outside and everything was quiet. For a blissful moment he didn’t remember anything. Then it came back to him all at once and he felt like burying himself under a ton of earth.

How could it have happened?

It felt like a bad dream.

He’d always felt in-control in situations with alpha’s, even though he didn’t always like the way they treated him. But nothing like this had ever happened before. He hadn’t thought it would happen to him.

He twisted and turned but was unable to fall back asleep. In the darkness before the dawn, he felt almost removed from himself. The only thing that kept him grounded was a scent that he couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t Itachi’s, but it didn’t feel intruding. It was nice and calming, a balm to his frizzled nerves.

He got out of bed and walked through the darkened house until he reached the living room. The smell was strongest here. Sasuke knew by then, even before he saw the person sleeping on the couch, whom the scent belonged to.

He crept onto the couch and Naruto made room for him even in his sleep. Sasuke pressed up close to him, like he was trying to become one with him, and nuzzled up under his chin. Naruto put his arm around Sasuke, holding him to his chest.

They both sighed contently and Sasuke drifted off to sleep.

\-----

Naruto woke up at dawn, feeling content despite having slept on a cramped couch. Sasuke was lying in his arms. He must have come to him sometime during the night. He was sleeping now, his face pressed to Naruto’s neck like he was trying to hide.

Naruto thought about what had happened last night and clutched Sasuke closer. He was glad he had trusted his instincts and hadn’t left work immediately. Knowing that those alpha’s were there alone with Sasuke had given him a bad feeling. He didn’t want to think that omega’s weren’t safe at the place where he worked and he would have trusted any alpha’s in his own department, but those three alpha’s had given off a bad vibe.

Sasuke moved his head. He wasn’t breathing as deeply anymore.

Naruto ran his fingers through Sasuke’s hair. “Good morning.”

Sasuke sighed, his breath fanning over Naruto’s skin, making it tingle.

“Good morning,” he muttered.

“How are you feeling?” Naruto asked. “You don’t have to answer that,” he added after a moment. “It was a stupid question.”

“Hm…” Naruto could hear the smile in Sasuke’s voice. “Just a little stupid.”

They lay there in silence for a while longer, just basking in each other’s presence. Sasuke moved the pad of his finger in a circular pattern below Naruto’s collarbone.

“You came back just at the right moment,” Sasuke said. “Why?”

“I, uh… This is probably gonna sound weird, but I suddenly felt really frightened and I knew that something bad had happened to you. I hadn’t left work yet so I just hurried over to the elevator, but it took ages to arrive. All the while I just stood there, feeling everything that happened to you.”

Sasuke stiffened. “Everything?”

“Not exactly everything, I guess. I just felt a general… I dunno… It was a really awful feeling, like I was trapped together with something slimy and gross that crawled over me.”

Sasuke sat up abruptly.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Naruto said. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” Sasuke said. “It was a pretty accurate description.”

Back then, Naruto had arrived just in time to see that huge alpha knee Sasuke in the stomach so hard that he sank to the floor, and he’d completely blacked out. It had happened before, mostly during his early teens. The other boys in school had called him a demon because of one time he’d blacked out and beaten up a bully. He had become better at controlling himself since then. This was the first time it had happened in almost ten years.

But it wasn’t until now he thought about whether that alpha had done anything else to Sasuke. He felt an ice-cold lump in his stomach at the thought. If he’d caught the alpha doing anything like that to Sasuke, he might very well have killed him.

Naruto sat up too. “He didn’t…?” he said and reached out to touch Sasuke’s arm, but thought better of it. “Did he do anything else to you?”

Sasuke hesitated before answering. “It wasn’t anything serious.”

Naruto fought the sickening lump in his gut. He tried to catch Sasuke’s eyes, but he turned away.

“So he did do something else to you.” His voice shook with anger. “Fuck, I should have torn the dick off that disgusting-“

“Stop it,” Sasuke said. “He just touched me outside my clothes, nothing more than that.”

He got up and strode off. Naruto followed him.

“Nothing more?” he said, incredulous. “You call that nothing?!”

Sasuke spun around. For the first time since they woke up, Sasuke faced him. He looked tired and ashen.

“Just shut up!” Sasuke shouted. “Stop going on about it! I don’t want to talk about it.”

Then he spun around, went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind himself.

Naruto stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do.

“Just leave him alone for now,” a calm, deep voice said.

Naruto looked up. Itachi stood in the hallway, dressed in pajama pants and a robe tied neatly around his waist.

“Come here, I’ll make you both breakfast.”

“Oh no, that’s okay,” Naruto said. “I don’t want to impose any more than I already have.”

“It’s completely fine,” Itachi said and gave him a smile. “I’m grateful someone else is watching over my brother.”

Naruto followed Itachi into the kitchen.

“Sorry about yesterday,” he said as Itachi started making coffee. “I shouldn’t have insisted on coming here. I just couldn’t leave him…”

“Stop apologizing,” Itachi said. “Sasuke needs someone stubborn and caring like you around him.”

He took out a pan and some eggs and set the pan on the stove.

“Don’t let his stubbornness chase you away. Sometimes it seems like he’s determined to keep himself miserable.”

Naruto sat down by the kitchen island.

“I can’t force him to like me,” he said. “He’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Lies,” Itachi said. “Would you like an egg?”

Naruto desperately wanted Itachi to keep talking. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “But-“

“Sunny side up?”

“Ah, yes…”

Itachi cracked three eggs into the pan with amazing efficiency.

“What makes you think Sasuke would lie?” Naruto said.

Itachi sighed and turned around to face Naruto. “My brother is, as you might have noticed, a very proud man. He prides himself on being independent and self-sufficient. To him, alpha’s symbolize everything that’s oppressing him. He thinks that love is something that slows people down, something that softens people and makes them weak and unreliable.” Itachi paused. “Our parents weren’t the best role models in that regard.”

He turned back to the pan to check on the eggs.

“The problem is,” Itachi continued, “that by holding himself to these extremely high and strict standards, he misses out on some of the best things in life.” He gave Naruto a mild, assertive look. “I think that what you two have is something really unique… And I wouldn’t want him, or you, to be miserable just because he won’t allow himself something good.”

Itachi turned off the stove and took out three plates. 

“Sasuke!” he called. “Breakfast is ready!”

If it hadn’t been for Itachi, the breakfast would have been a quiet affair. Naruto couldn’t take his eyes off Sasuke. He felt fiercely protective of him, and what they had talked about that morning had left him with a horribly helpless feeling.

What if he hadn’t been close by yesterday? What if he’d been too late?

The thought made him so angry that eventually Itachi asked why he was trying to glare a hole in the table.

“Sorry,” Naruto muttered and focused on his food.

Itachi stood. “I need to go get ready for work. I’ll leave you two to it… I think you have a lot to talk about.”

He gave Sasuke a sharp look before he left.

For a long moment they both sat in silence.

“Thanks for saving me yesterday,” Sasuke said at last. “And I’m sorry for shouting at you just now.”

“It’s okay,” Naruto said, “I was being too pushy. I don’t seem to know when to back down.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Naruto was reminded of Sasuke’s words yesterday.

_I don’t feel anything for you. I don’t want you. So stop bothering me._

He knew he had been overly pushy yesterday when he had begged Itachi to take him with them, but it had been impossible for him to leave Sasuke like that. Now he braced himself for the moment when Sasuke would tell him to leave again.

Sasuke stood and went over to pour himself some coffee.

“Do you want some?” he asked.

“Yeah, thanks.” Anything that would allow him to stay a little longer was welcomed.

Sasuke placed a cup of black coffee in front of Naruto. Naruto stared at it with trepidation. “…Do you have milk and sugar?”

Sasuke looked at him like he’d asked for blood.

“What?” Naruto said.

“Are you telling me you want to ruin perfectly good coffee?”

“Um, yes?”

Sasuke sighed but he did find Naruto some milk and sugar. Naruto poured in milk until the cup was brimming, and put in a heaping teaspoon of sugar. He glanced over at Sasuke and as he’d thought he found him looking deeply shocked, almost offended. 

Naruto was about to put in another spoon of sugar, but Sasuke snatched the sugar bowl from him.

“That’s more than enough. Are you trying to give yourself a heart attack?”

“I thought you didn’t care about me,” Naruto said innocently as he stirred his coffee.

He glanced over at Sasuke, who was holding his coffee cup a little to tightly in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said softly. “I know I acted like a complete ass yesterday. The things I said to you-“

“It’s okay,” Naruto shot in. “You don’t have to… I shouldn’t have bothered you. You made it clear that you didn’t want anything to do with me, so…” He trailed off.

Sasuke sighed. “The things I said, they weren’t true.”

Naruto blinked. “… Huh?”

Sasuke stared intently down at his cup of coffee. “I said those things to make you leave.”

“… Why?”

“Because I thought this would be temporary. I thought… I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I wanted to go back to normal. To what I had before.”

Naruto thought about what Itachi had said. _He prides himself on being independent and self-sufficient._

“I don’t think we can go back to normal anymore,” Naruto said.

It was easier for him, he knew that. His life could only improve after their union, while Sasuke’s life might have to change completely. Omegas were generally pregnant more often than beta’s and because of that they were less attractive to employ in higher positions. Sasuke seemed to have gotten his position because of his many un-omega like traits. If he got pregnant now, he might lose his job.

But yesterday Sasuke had said that he couldn’t lose the baby…

Had it only been the shock and fear talking?

Naruto reached across the table. He hesitated, giving Sasuke the chance to pull away. Sasuke didn’t. Instead he reached out and took Naruto’s offered hand. He squeezed it tightly.

“Do you still want to be with me?” Sasuke said.

Naruto smiled. “Hell yeah.”

“Then I… I’d like to be yours. If you’ll be mine?”

Naruto blinked back tears. He nodded. “Of course.”

He couldn’t resist the pull between them any longer. He stood and moved to Sasuke’s side of the table. Sasuke turned towards him and Naruto leant down to kiss him. He sighed into the kiss. It felt so good. Sasuke was into it too this time, not like that moment on Monday when he pulled away as if he’d been burned by Naruto’s lips. Now he pushed into the kiss, hungrily, and Naruto had to give in and let him take over.

From the doorway, Itachi cleared his throat.

Naruto extracted himself from Sasuke with difficulty. He’d completely forgotten that Itachi still was there.

Itachi went and poured some coffee into a travel cup. “I’ll be going, then. Don’t get too wild while I’m away.”

Then he left, the front door clicking shut behind him.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. “Wanna go up to the bedroom?”

Sasuke stood and kissed Naruto again, before pulling him along upstairs.

\------

Sleeping with Sasuke outside of his heat was very different. It felt more like them. They fumbled a bit, they were slightly out of sync, it took more time to get off and it definitely took longer to recover, but Naruto almost liked it better that way.

He memorized every single one of Sasuke’s small, often nearly inaudible noises. He had to pay more attention to make sure they were on the same page the entire time, but he liked it that way. He could take his time watching Sasuke’s face and watch him unravel as they took each other apart, and remember every small part of it.

Afterwards they just enjoyed the silence together.

“I feel really good when I’m with you,” Sasuke said. He rolled over onto his side, propping his head up with one hand. He drew circles on Naruto’s chest with his other hand.

“Me too,” Naruto said. “When I’m with you, I feel so calm, but when we’re not together…”

Sasuke looked pained. “I’m sorry I said those things…”

Naruto grabbed his hand. “Don’t apologize. You don’t need to. I understand.”

Sasuke caressed the back of Naruto’s hand. “Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you believe that we’re soulmates?”

Naruto nodded. “Definitely.”

Sasuke smiled. “You don’t think it’s a stupid myth?”

“We nearly died because of it, so no,” Naruto said. “And I swear, I can _feel_ you, even when you’re not close to me.”

Sasuke placed his hand over Naruto’s heart. Then he rested his head on his chest. Naruto ran one hand through Sasuke’s hair. He closed his eyes and just concentrated on feeling. It was like he could feel Sasuke’s blood flow through him, like they were physically connected.

His hand moved to Sasuke’s stomach. “Did you mean it?” he said softly. “When you said you couldn’t lose the baby?”

Sasuke nodded. “It’s gonna be difficult. I’m not even sure if I can keep my job. But I know that I want to keep this baby.”

“Are you sure?” Naruto said. “Is it really there?”

Sasuke raised himself up on his elbows so he could meet Naruto’s gaze. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t lose it?”

Sasuke shook his head.

“How can you be so sure?” Naruto said.

Sasuke shrugged. “I don't know. I can just feel it.”

Naruto placed one hand on the nape of Sasuke’s neck and pulled him down for a gentle kiss.

“I’ll be here for you,” he said. “As long as we’re together, we’ll figure it out.”

Sasuke’s subdued smile glowed with content. “I know we will.”

\-----

For the next few weeks, they went through a turbulent period. The whole incident with Daiki had been caught on tape thanks to the security cameras that recently had been installed. It was a good thing, though, because it had been Naruto and Sasuke’s word against the three alphas. Daiki’s two friends had been guarding the door to the office when Naruto had barged in. They claimed that he'd attacked Daiki unprovoked. Sasuke’s voice in the matter had been nearly insignificant. Daiki’s lawyer claimed that Sasuke was lying to cover the fact that he had come with Daiki willingly. The video evidence laid all those claims to rest, though. It was impossible to see the footage as anything but deliberate sexual and violent advances on a resisting party. Even Naruto’s excessive reaction had been pardoned.

The result was Daiki and his two minion’s immediate discharge. 

\-----

One evening, when Sasuke came over to Naruto’s place for dinner – they switched between apartments each week since they were both homebodies who loved the comfort of their own bed – he seemed unusually tense. Or at least, that’s what Naruto first thought. But then, as Sasuke turned to him with barely contained excitement written on his face, he realized this was something else.

“I’m pregnant,” Sasuke said.

Naruto gaped. He’d thought he’d gotten used to the idea, but they hadn’t been one hundred percent sure until now. 

“I was pretty certain of it,” Sasuke said, “but I had to check and the test was positive.”

Naruto laughed and lifted Sasuke off the floor. A surprised gasp left Sasuke. “Careful!”

Naruto set him gently back down again.

“Wait,” he said, “can you eat ramen?”

“Yeah,” Sasuke said. Then, “I think so?”

They stared at each other.

“Better check,” Naruto said and brought out his phone. His frown deepened as he read. “Wow, there’s a lot you can’t eat.”

“What about ramen?”

“I guess it’s okay. It’s made from scratch and there isn’t any raw meat in it.”

Naruto had really put his heart into making this evening nice. He’d even bought candles and had filled the whole living room with them.

“I need to tell my boss about the pregnancy,” Sasuke said as they finished the meal. He toyed with the chopsticks. 

“Do you have to do it right away?” Naruto said.

“I’ll wait until the third month, but I can’t wait any longer than that.” He sighed. “I’ll just have to make sure that I’m irreplaceable to Orochimaru.”

He laid down on the couch, his head in Naruto’s lap. “I’m exhausted.” He sighed. “Thanks for the meal, it was really good.”

Naruto ran his fingers through Sasuke’s hair in a soothing rhythm, and soon Sasuke was asleep.

\-----

Sasuke put in more work than ever at his job. Naruto had to stay behind together with him if he wanted to see him at all during the day. He didn’t mind, though. He made it his mission to make sure Sasuke had a healthy diet and didn’t forget to eat or drink, and that he was cutting back on the coffee.

Sometimes, Sasuke threw him out when he was tired of Naruto’s cloying concern, but shortly after he would call him and ask if he could order some food or make some dinner. Naruto was always happy to help.

Each night, Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke’s stomach after they’d gone to bed and checked if he could sense any difference. Every night he was certain that Sasuke’s stomach had grown a little, but Sasuke told him he was just imagining things.

“Even I can’t sense a difference yet,” he said.

Naruto kept his hand securely on Sasuke’s stomach even after Sasuke had fallen asleep, looking forward to the following months development. 

\-----

It didn’t take long before the bump could be seen easily in profile, but when Sasuke wore clothes it was completely hidden.

“I’ll talk to Orochimaru today,” Sasuke said as he got dressed that morning.

Naruto was still lying in bed. He had been watching Sasuke get dressed even though he knew he needed to get up and get ready for work too.

Naruto got up and kissed Sasuke.

“I’m sure he’ll keep you in the job,” he said, though he didn’t feel as confident as he pretended to be. Orochimaru was an unpredictable man. It might all chance on what mood he was in that day.

Sasuke smiled and pressed his forehead to Naruto’s. “Let’s hope so.”

Naruto barely got any work done that day. He waited for the verdict with trepidation. He waited until everyone else in his department had left for the day, but he still hadn’t heard from Sasuke. Eventually he had to call it a day because he wouldn’t get any more work done when he was so distracted. He had just turned off his computer when he heard a door open.

He stood and saw Sasuke come towards him. Even before he reached him, Naruto knew he had good news. He was basically radiating happiness.

“Orochimaru threatened to fire me,” he said when he reached Naruto, “but since the department had become twice as effective after I started working there, and since so many had come to him personally and told him they wanted me to stay, he had no other choice but to keep me.”

Naruto hugged Sasuke tight and spun him around. “Thank fuck,” he growled.

Sasuke laughed and clutched him tight. 

\-----

Naruto woke up in the morning a few months later with a feeling of content that he just barely was starting to get used to. He could feel Sasuke next to him like a glowing beacon even before he opened his eyes. His presence wasn’t apparent just his calming scent, but something else too. Something indefinable that was firmly linked to Naruto’s own being.

He could feel his heartbeat even before he touched him.

His hand went to Sasuke’s stomach immediately, sliding over the protruding bump. He could swear he felt something flutter inside there, even though he shouldn’t be able to feel it at this point in the pregnancy. He wondered if he felt what Sasuke felt.

He met Sasuke’s gaze, who was watching him from underneath half-closed lids like a languid cat.

“Is she moving?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked surprised. He nodded. “But it just feels like a vague flutter. You shouldn’t be able to feel it.”

Naruto grinned. “I think I can feel it because of our bond.”

He leant down to kiss the baby bump. Then he sat up. “Okay, time to get up!”

Sasuke groaned. “But it’s Sunday.”

“We need to keep packing!”

They had sold both their apartments and had bought a bigger one, with a room for their daughter. Sasuke’s apartment had been cleaned out already, but Naruto didn’t have to be out until two weeks time. He was eager to move into their new apartment, though.

“I’ll make breakfast!” he announced and bounced out of bed.

\-----

Naruto felt like no time passed between moving into the new apartment and finding himself in the delivery room together with Sasuke and their newborn, sleeping girl. Sasuke was sleeping too, but Naruto couldn’t. He didn’t want to let go of Yua. Even though he’d been watching her for probably an hour now, he was still amazed that she was finally there in his arms, and so small…

Her hair was black, like Sasuke’s, and like Naruto she had three whisker marks on each cheek. She still hadn’t opened her eyes.

He thought back to only a few hours ago, when Sasuke had stared at their baby’s puffy cheeks in puzzlement.

“What kind of ancestors do you have?” he had said. “I had no idea those whisker marks were hereditary.”

Naruto had been as surprised as Sasuke to see the marks on Yua. He hadn’t thought he’d ever need to mention it, but there he was, talking about his family’s strange ancestors. “I might have forgotten to mention that I’m a descendant from the fox spirits.”

Sasuke had stared at him. “… What?”

“It’s what we believe in my family. I don’t know if it’s true, but these marks have been passed down for generations, so…”

It was said that the reason alpha’s and omega’s came into existence was because fox spirits or cat spirits had taken human form and started mating with humans. It wasn’t unusual that people claimed they hailed from some ancient deity, but it was unusual that there existed such prominent evidence of it.

“To be honest,” Naruto had said, “no one in my mother’s generation had the marks so my family thought they were gone forever until I was born. I’m the only one of my cousins who have it.”

He had been a little nervous of Sasuke’s reaction. He’d feared he’d laugh or be freaked out or call his family weird, but instead he’d just smiled at their girl’s whiskered cheeks as though they were the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

And they were, Naruto thought and ran the pad of his finger over one soft, little cheek. He’d always hated his own markings because people had made fun of them, but now he found he loved them just as much as everything else about the baby in his arms.

Eventually, Naruto had to give in to sleep, so he put Yua in the crib next to Sasuke’s bed and allowed himself to nod off for a bit.

He woke up with a half-formed growl in his throat. There was an unknown presence in the room; a faint alpha scent.

“It’s just me,” Itachi said, sounding amused.

Naruto blinked against the bright light. He’d slept until morning.

Sasuke hit the back of Naruto’s head lightly. “Stop growling at my brother.”

“Sorry,” Naruto said and straightened up from where he’d been slumped over on Sasuke’s bed. He yawned.

“Look,” Sasuke said, indicating the baby in his arms.

Naruto moved over to sit next to Sasuke. He looked down at Yua, who looked up at him, or in his general direction at least.

“She’s got blue eyes!”

Itachi chuckled. “You have some strong genes since you’ve managed to overrun the Uchiha genes.”

“Every single one of our cousins has the same dark eyes and hair,” Sasuke said.

Naruto shrugged. “That’s the Uzumaki gene for you.”

He snuggled up next to Sasuke and watched him feed Yua.

Afterwards, Itachi held her for a while. He looked like he was balancing a very valuable and very fragile piece of porcelain. Naruto snickered and Sasuke elbowed him. It didn’t take long, though, before Yua had charmed Itachi so thoroughly that he almost wouldn’t let go of her.

Eventually he handed her over to Naruto when she started crying. Naruto sniffed her.

“She needs a diaper change.” He sighed. “Sasuke got the fun job and I got the poop job.”

“Squeezing out a baby is not my idea of fun,” Sasuke said dryly.

Naruto just hummed happily.

\-----

_Six years later_

The house was quiet when Sasuke came home from work. That was never a good sign.

“I’m home,” he called.

No answer.

He sighed, took off his jacket and shoes, and made his way to the kitchen, only to be stopped in the doorway by a sea of strung out blankets that covered the whole living room.

A small head full of blond, ruffled hair stuck out of the giant blanket fort somewhere around the living room table. “Dad! Don’t ruin it!”

Then someone latched themselves onto Sasuke’s waist. He looked down at Yua, who stared up at him with her big, blue, puppy dog eyes. “Come and play with us!”

Sasuke sighed. “I’m really tired and I need to eat. Where is your dad?”

Another, bigger blond head popped up next to the first. “C’mon, Sasuke. Don’t be a party pooper. Come play with us!”

A small, dark-haired head popped up between the blondes. “Yeth, come pway!”

“I need to eat,” Sasuke bit out. “Please act like an adult for once, Naruto.”

“We made a pathway to the kitchen,” Yua said. She tugged on Sasuke who, mostly due to exhaustion, succumbed and kneeled.

He crawled after Yua towards the kitchen, but he wasn’t even halfway there when Haru and Mei attacked him.

He groaned and collapsed on the floor. Haru and Mei crawled on top of him, Haru shouting excitedly that he’d captured the beast. Mei laughed and latched herself around Sasuke’s neck. Sasuke growled and grabbed Haru around the waist. He dragged him to the floor, and started tickling him.

“You thought you had me, huh? But I’m not dead yet.”

Haru screamed with laughter.

“If no one feeds me soon, I’m gonna eat you!”

Yua threw herself into the family pile. “No, beast, don’t eat my brother!”

“Then I’ll eat you!”

“Dad!” the kids screamed, “Save us!”

And then Naruto was joining the fray as well.

“There’s only way to defeat the beast,” he said seriously.

The kids were all ears.

“We need to offer him… pizza!”

The kids all cheered and scampered off to the kitchen. Naruto leant down and kissed Sasuke.

“Dinner is almost ready,” Naruto said. “Just stay put, I’ll bring it to you.”

A few years ago, Sasuke might have protested against eating on the floor inside a blanket fort, but now he honestly didn’t care. He moved into the heart of the fort, which was centered around the couch and held up by a set of shelves. There was a bunch of pillows and blankets on the floor, and one of the kids, probably Yua, had transformed an old cardboard box into a house for stuffed animals. One of their cats, Crayon, stretched and came over to greet Sasuke, smacking his bushy tail into Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke scratched the cat behind the ear.

Soon after, the smell of homemade pizza wafted in, and then Naruto and the kids came crawling with a bunch of plates loaded with fresh pizza slices.

Silence reigned as they ate. Then the kids, one after the other, fell asleep.

Mei was sleeping in Sasuke’s lap and Yua and Haru was sleeping on a pile of pillows on the floor. Crayon and Basket and Tussle (all named by the kids) had curled up on various pillows too.

Naruto turned on the fairy lights that were draped around the roof of their little burrow.

“It’s really cozy in here,” Sasuke said.

Naruto scooted over and kissed Sasuke’s cheek. “I made it for you.”

When Sasuke just looked puzzled, Naruto added, “Your heat is coming up.”

“Oh…” Sasuke frowned. “I thought it wasn’t for another two weeks, at least.”

“You’ve started hoarding my shirts,” Naruto said. “I couldn’t find my favorite t-shirt, so I looked on your side of the bed and you had like, five of them stashed by the headboard.”

Sasuke blushed. Was it that many? Shit…

Naruto kissed Sasuke. “Maybe we could…?” He looked at Sasuke, and Sasuke, due to years of knowing him, and probably due to their bond as well, knew what he was asking.

“I thought we agreed that three was enough,” Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded. “I just miss that baby stage…”

“You mean the one with zero sleep for us?”

Naruto snorted and petted Mei’s soft hair. “No, I mean the one where they’re so tiny and sweet-smelling and… you know.”

Sasuke knew.

He kissed Naruto. “I’ll think about it.”

He felt Naruto grin.

Then he leant back. “Thanks for the blanket fort.”

Naruto pulled an orange blanket out of a pile. “This is my favorite one, all smelled up for you.”

Sasuke took the blanket and inhaled the scent. Oh… His heat was definitely very close. He felt like burrowing under a pile of Naruto-smelling clothes and blankets. He hadn’t been much of a nester before he met Naruto, but now he was hopeless.

He gently lifted Mei out of his lap and placed her next to her sleeping siblings. Then he flopped down on the blanket pile and pressed his face into the softness of it. Naruto lay down next to him.

He watched Sasuke with a soft smile on his face. “I’m so glad I met you.”

Sasuke searched for Naruto’s hand and squeezed it. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a happy ending and a happy little family ^^ Thanks for reading!


End file.
